JP2016080894A - Electronic device, home appliance, control system, control method, and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic apparatus capable of attracting user's attention according to a message to be uttered.SOLUTION: An electronic apparatus which utters a message utters attention attracting wording corresponding to the message when uttering the message.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present disclosure relates to control of an electronic device, and more particularly to control of an electronic device that utters a message.

  In recent years, technologies related to voice processing have been developed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for changing a voice to an appropriate voice quality in accordance with a vehicle driver and information to be provided. Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for editing the voice quality of speech.

JP 2010-128099 A International Publication No. 2008/149547

  By the way, in recent years, electronic devices that can utter messages to nearby users have become widespread. Some messages are important to the user and some are not. If the electronic device utters a message in the same manner, the user may not notice that the uttered message is important and may miss the important message.

  Here, the speech processing techniques disclosed in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 change the voice quality of speech. If the voice quality is simply changed, the user still cannot determine whether the spoken message is important and may miss the message. Therefore, there is a need for an electronic device for calling the user's attention more directly.

  The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide an electronic device that can alert a user according to a message to be uttered. is there. An object in another aspect is to provide a home appliance that can call the user's attention according to a message that is uttered. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a control system that can alert a user in response to a message to be uttered. Still another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device control method capable of calling a user's attention according to a message to be uttered. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a control program for an electronic device that can alert a user in accordance with an uttered message.

  According to one embodiment, when an electronic device that utters a message utters a message, the electronic device that utters the message utters an alert wording corresponding to the message.

  Preferably, the importance level of the message is associated with the message. When the electronic device identifies the alert wording associated with the importance and utters the message, the electronic device utters the identified alert word.

Preferably, the electronic device utters a message after uttering an alert wording.
Preferably, the electronic device calls attention associated with the importance level of the message to be uttered based on the first information that associates each of the plurality of importance levels with each of the plurality of warning wordings. A first specifying unit for specifying a wording, an alert wording specified by the first specifying unit, and an output unit for outputting a message to be uttered.

  Preferably, the electronic device further includes a receiving unit for receiving the message to be uttered and the importance associated with the message from a device different from the electronic device. The output unit outputs the alert wording specified by the first specifying unit and the message received by the receiving unit.

  Preferably, the electronic device includes an identifier for identifying a message to be uttered and an importance associated with the message from a device different from the electronic device, and a plurality of identifiers. A second specifying unit for specifying a message associated with the identifier received by the receiving unit based on second information that associates each of the plurality of messages with each other. The output unit outputs the alert word specified by the first specifying unit and the message specified by the second specifying unit.

  Preferably, the electronic device associates the time acquisition unit for acquiring the current time, each of the plurality of messages, the validity period or invalidity period of the message, and the correction degree of the importance of the message with each other. The third specifying unit for specifying the correction level associated with the message to be uttered and the valid period or invalid period including the current time, and the third specifying unit. And a correction unit for correcting the importance associated with the message to be uttered with the correction level. A 1st specific | specification part specifies the alerting wording matched with the importance after correction | amendment as an alerting wording of speech object based on 1st information.

  Preferably, the electronic device associates the detection unit for detecting the current position of the electronic device, each of the plurality of messages, the distribution area of the message, and the degree of correction of the importance of the message with each other. A fourth specifying unit for specifying a correction degree associated with a message to be uttered and a delivery area including the current position based on the fourth information, and a correction degree specified by the fourth specifying unit And a correction unit for correcting the importance associated with the message to be uttered. A 1st specific | specification part specifies the alerting wording matched with the importance after correction | amendment as an alerting wording of speech object based on 1st information.

  Preferably, the output unit includes the name of a person around the electronic device in the caution wording to be uttered, and then outputs the caution wording and the message.

  Preferably, the electronic device calculates a similarity between each of the microphone, the sound data obtained by collecting the sound from the periphery of the electronic device, and the sound data representing the characteristics of each individual. The similarity calculated by the calculation unit exceeds a predetermined value based on the fifth information that associates the calculation unit, each of the voice data representing the characteristics of each individual, and each of the names of the individual. A fifth specifying unit for specifying a name associated with the audio data. The output unit includes the name specified by the fifth specifying unit in the caution wording to be uttered, and then outputs the caution wording and the message.

  Preferably, the electronic device calculates a degree of similarity between the camera, image data obtained by the camera capturing an image of the periphery of the electronic device, and image data representing individual characteristics. Images whose similarity calculated by the calculation unit exceeds a predetermined value based on the fifth information that associates each of the image data representing the characteristics of each unit with each individual name and each individual name. And a fifth specifying unit for specifying a name associated with the data. The output unit includes the name specified by the fifth specifying unit in the caution wording to be uttered, and then outputs the caution wording and the message.

  Preferably, the output unit changes a tone at the time of utterance of the alert word according to the importance associated with the message to be uttered.

  According to another embodiment, when a household appliance that utters a message utters a message, the household appliance that utters the message utters an alert wording corresponding to the message.

  According to another embodiment, when a message is uttered, the control system for an electronic device that utters a message causes the electronic device to execute a process for uttering a warning wording according to the message.

  According to yet another embodiment, the method for controlling an electronic device that utters a message causes the electronic device to execute a process of uttering an alert wording according to the message when the message is uttered.

  According to still another embodiment, a control program executed by a computer that utters a message causes the computer to execute a process of uttering an alert wording according to the message when the message is uttered.

  In one aspect, the user's attention can be alerted according to the message uttered.

  The above and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

It is a figure which shows the control system of the electronic device which utters a message. It is a figure which shows a mode that the cleaner according to 1st Embodiment is uttering with respect to the user who exists in the circumference | surroundings. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the cleaner according to 1st Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the content of the alerting table in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing the process which the vacuum cleaner according to 1st Embodiment performs. It is a block diagram which shows the main hardware constitutions of the cleaner according to 1st Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the content of the alerting table in 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the cleaner according to 3rd Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the content of the message table in 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing the process which the vacuum cleaner according to 3rd Embodiment performs. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the cleaner according to 4th Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the content of the period table in 4th Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing the process which the vacuum cleaner according to 4th Embodiment performs. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the cleaner according to 5th Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the content of the area table in 5th Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing the process which the vacuum cleaner according to 5th Embodiment performs. It is the figure which showed the content of the integrated table in 6th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows a mode that the cleaner according to 7th Embodiment is uttering with respect to the user who exists in the surroundings. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the cleaner according to 7th Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the content of the name table in 7th Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the content of the alerting table in 7th Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing the process which the vacuum cleaner according to 7th Embodiment performs. It is a figure which shows a mode that the vacuum cleaner according to 8th Embodiment is uttering. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the cleaner according to 8th Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the outline | summary of the control system containing the cleaner according to 9th Embodiment. It is the sequence figure which showed the flow of the data in a control system in time series.

  Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts and components are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated. Each embodiment described below may be combined appropriately and selectively.

<System configuration>
The system configuration of the control system 50 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a control system 50 for an electronic device that utters a message. The control system 50 includes a server 60 as a control device. The server 60 transmits information (hereinafter also referred to as “message information”) to each of the electronic devices connected on the network. The message information is information related to a message to be uttered by each electronic device. When each electronic device receives the message information, it utters a message indicated by the message information.

  In FIG. 1, as examples of electronic devices controlled by the server 60, the vacuum cleaners 100 </ b> A to 100 </ b> I, the air conditioner 101, the lighting apparatus 102, the television 103, the air cleaner 104 according to the following embodiments, A microwave oven 105, a refrigerator 106, a washing machine 107, an electric curtain 108, an electric shutter 109 of a garage, and a smartphone 110 are shown.

  In the following, a self-propelled cleaner will be described as an example of an electronic device controlled by the server 60, but the electronic device is not limited to a self-propelled cleaner. For example, the electronic equipment is a vacuum cleaner that is not self-propelled, an air conditioner 101, a lighting fixture 102, a television 103, an air purifier 104, a microwave oven 105, a refrigerator 106, a washing machine 107, an electric curtain 108, and an electric type for a garage. It can also include home appliances such as the shutter 109 and the smartphone 110, commercial electronic devices, robots, and other electronic devices having a speech function.

<First Embodiment>
With reference to FIG. 2, an outline of cleaner 100 </ b> A according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the vacuum cleaner 100A is speaking to the user 210 around him. More specifically, FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a state in which the cleaner 100A is uttering an unimportant message. FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating a state in which the cleaner 100A is uttering an important message.

  When the vacuum cleaner 100A according to the first embodiment utters a message, the vacuum cleaner 100A utters a warning wording according to the message. In this specification, the word for alerting is a word for alerting a person.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, when the cleaner 100A utters an unimportant message that does not require urgency, such as “It is sunny today”, the cleaner 100A has a low alert level. A word of caution is issued. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the cleaner 100A utters an important message that requires urgency such as “full of garbage”, the cleaner 100A A high level of cautionary wording “I want you to hear me a little” is issued.

  Thus, the vacuum cleaner 100 </ b> A can draw the user's 210 attention by uttering the alert word together with the message. As a result, the vacuum cleaner 100A can prevent the user 210 from listening to the message. Moreover, since the alert wording changes according to the message, the vacuum cleaner 100A can change the degree of the user's attention for each message.

  Preferably, the importance level of the message is associated with the message. Messages that are more important are associated with higher importance, and messages that are less important are associated with lower importance. The vacuum cleaner 100A specifies the alert wording associated with the importance, and utters the specified alert word when speaking the message.

  Thereby, the cleaner 100A can attract the user's 210 attention as an important message is uttered. As a result, the user 210 does not miss an important message.

  More preferably, the cleaner 100A utters a message after uttering an alert wording. As a result, since the message is uttered after the user's 210's attention is drawn, the user 210 can easily hear the message.

  Note that the vacuum cleaner 100A does not necessarily have to utter a message after uttering an alert wording. For example, the vacuum cleaner 100A may utter a warning wording while speaking a message. As an example, the cleaner 100 </ b> A may be configured to utter an alert wording when detecting that the user 210 is not drawing attention during the utterance of the message.

[Function configuration]
With reference to FIG. 3, the function of cleaner 100A according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the cleaner 100A. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the CPU 2 described later of the vacuum cleaner 100 </ b> A includes a receiving unit 300, a first specifying unit 310, and an output unit 320.

  The receiving unit 300 receives message information from a device (for example, the server 60 (see FIG. 1) described above) different from the cleaner 100A. In the present embodiment, the message information includes at least the message to be uttered and the importance of the message. The receiving unit 300 outputs the importance included in the message information to the first specifying unit 310. The receiving unit 300 outputs a message included in the message information to the output unit 320.

  The first specifying unit 310 receives the importance received by the receiving unit 300 based on the alerting table 21 (first information) that associates each of the plurality of importances with each of the plurality of alerting words. The alert wording associated with is identified.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 4, the content of the alerting table 21 and the specific example which specifies the alerting wording from the said alerting table 21 are demonstrated. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the contents of the alerting table 21. The alerting table 21 may be stored in advance in the cleaner 100A, or may be distributed from the server 60 as described later.

  The alerting table 21 associates importance and alerting words according to importance. The lower the importance level, the lower the degree of alerting the user is associated. The higher the degree of importance, the higher the degree of alerting the user is associated with.

  For example, the importance level “2” is associated with the alert word “n-”. The importance “3” is associated with the alert word “Anasa”. The importance level “4” is associated with an alert wording “I want you to listen for a moment”. The importance level “5” is associated with the alert wording “What is important to say now”. It should be noted that a warning word is not necessarily associated with the importance level. For example, there is no need for an associated alert word such as importance “1”.

  As described above, the first specifying unit 310 refers to the alert table 21 and identifies the alert word corresponding to the importance included in the message information. For example, when the importance level included in the message information is “3”, the first specifying unit 310 specifies the alert word “Anosa” associated with the importance level “3” (see dotted line 401). ).

  Referring to FIG. 3 again, output unit 320 outputs the alert word specified by first specifying unit 310 and the message received by receiving unit 300 to speaker 4 described later. As a result, a warning message and a message are uttered from the speaker 4.

  Note that the output unit 320 may not output the alert word to the speaker 4 in some cases. When the importance level of the message to be uttered is equal to or lower than a predetermined importance level (for example, importance level “1”), the output unit 320 outputs only the message to the speaker 4 without outputting the alert wording. May be. This allows the user to clearly distinguish between messages that are important and messages that are not important.

  Moreover, the timing at which the alert wording and the message are uttered is arbitrary. For example, the alert wording and message may be uttered when message information is received from the server 60 as shown in FIG. 3, or may be uttered when a user operation such as a button press is detected. Then, it may be uttered when a person around the vacuum cleaner 100A is detected.

[Control structure]
With reference to FIG. 5, the control structure of cleaner 100A according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the process executed by cleaner 100A. The processing in FIG. 5 is realized by a CPU 2 (to be described later) of the cleaner 100A executing a program. In another aspect, part or all of the processing may be performed by a circuit element or other hardware.

  In step S100, the CPU 2 receives message information including the message to be uttered and the importance level of the message from the server 60 (see FIG. 1) as the receiving unit 300 (see FIG. 3).

  In step S102, CPU2 specifies the alert wording matched with the importance received by step S100 based on the alert table 21 as the above-mentioned 1st specific | specification part 310 (refer FIG. 3). More specifically, the CPU 2 selects an importance level equal to the importance level received in step S100 from among a plurality of importance levels included in the alerting table 21, and is associated with the importance level. Identify alert wording.

  In step S104, the CPU 2 outputs the alert word specified in step S102 and the message received in step S100 to the speaker 4 described later as the output unit 320 (see FIG. 3).

[Hardware configuration]
With reference to FIG. 6, an example of a hardware configuration of cleaner 100A according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a main hardware configuration of the cleaner 100A.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the vacuum cleaner 100 </ b> A includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 2, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 3, a speaker 4, a microphone 5, and a camera 6. A clock 7, a GPS (Global Positioning System) 8, a monitor 9, a network interface (I / F) 10, and a storage device 20.

  The ROM 1 stores an operating system (OS), a control program executed by the cleaner 100A, and the like. The CPU 2 controls the operation of the cleaner 100A by executing various programs such as an operating system and a control program for the cleaner 100A. The RAM 3 functions as a working memory and temporarily stores various data necessary for program execution.

  The speaker 4 outputs a message and an alert word output by the above-described output unit 320 (see FIG. 3) as sound. The speaker 4 may be a directional speaker that can output sound toward a specific person, or may be an omnidirectional speaker.

  The microphone 5 collects sound emitted from a person around. The microphone 5 converts sound collected from around the cleaner 100 </ b> A into a sound signal (electric signal) and outputs the sound signal to the CPU 2. Note that the microphone 5 is not an essential component in the present embodiment. Microphone 5 has a hardware configuration used by cleaner 100G according to a seventh embodiment to be described later.

  The camera 6 includes a lens and an image sensor such as a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor). The camera 6 captures an image of a subject around the vacuum cleaner 100A and generates an image representing the subject. The camera 6 outputs the generated image to the CPU 2. The camera 6 is not an essential configuration in the present embodiment. The camera 6 has a hardware configuration used by a cleaner 100G according to a seventh embodiment described later.

  The timepiece 7 is, for example, a radio timepiece or other equipment for measuring time. Alternatively, the clock 7 may be substituted with a clock function that the CPU 2 has. The clock 7 receives a standard radio wave including time information via the antenna 7A. The clock 7 outputs the received time information to the CPU 2. The timepiece 7 is not an essential component in the present embodiment. The timepiece 7 has a hardware configuration provided in a cleaner 100D according to a fourth embodiment described later.

  The GPS 8 receives position information indicating the current position of the cleaner 100A via the antenna 8A. The position information is detected from, for example, a GPS signal or a position signal (positioning signal) from a base station. The GPS 8 outputs the received position information to the CPU 2. Note that the GPS 8 is not an essential component in the present embodiment. The GPS 8 is a hardware configuration provided in the vacuum cleaner 100E according to a fifth embodiment described later.

  The monitor 9 displays, for example, the message and alert word output by the output unit 320 described above as character information. The monitor 9 may be configured as a touch panel in combination with a touch sensor (not shown). The utterance alert message and message are output, for example, when a user operation on the touch panel is detected.

  The network interface (I / F) 10 transmits / receives data to / from other communication devices via the antenna 10A. Other communication devices include, for example, the above-described server 60 (see FIG. 1) and other devices having communication functions. Vacuum cleaner 100A may be configured to download a program for realizing various processes according to the present embodiment via antenna 10A.

  The storage device 20 is a storage medium such as a hard disk or an external storage device. The storage device 20 includes a program for realizing various processes according to the present embodiment, the above-described alerting table 21 (see FIG. 4), a message table 22, a period table 23, an area table 24, and a name. The table 25 is stored. The message table 22, the period table 23, the area table 24, and the name table 25 will be described in each embodiment described later.

  Note that at least one of the alerting table 21, the message table 22, the period table 23, the area table 24, and the name table 25 is not the storage device 20, but a storage area (for example, a cache memory) of the ROM 1, CPU 2, RAM 3 Alternatively, it may be stored in an external storage device (for example, server 60).

  Further, the program for realizing various processes according to the present embodiment may be provided by being incorporated in a part of an arbitrary program, not as a single program. In this case, processing according to the present embodiment is realized in cooperation with an arbitrary program. Even such a program that does not include some modules does not depart from the spirit of the cleaner 100A according to the present embodiment. Furthermore, part or all of the functions provided by the program according to the present embodiment may be realized by dedicated hardware. Furthermore, the cleaner 100A and the server 60 may cooperate to realize processing according to the present embodiment. Furthermore, the cleaner 100 </ b> A may be configured in the form of a so-called cloud service in which at least one server realizes processing according to the present embodiment.

[Brief Summary]
As described above, cleaner 100A according to the present embodiment changes the alert wording to be uttered according to the importance associated with the message. Thereby, the cleaner 100A can attract the user's 210 attention as an important message is uttered. As a result, the vacuum cleaner 100A can prevent the user 210 from hearing an important message.

<Second Embodiment>
[Overview]
Below, with reference to FIG. 7, the cleaner 100B according to 2nd Embodiment is demonstrated. Since other points such as the hardware configuration of cleaner 100B are the same as those of cleaner 100A according to the first embodiment described above, description thereof will not be repeated. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the contents of the alerting table 21A in the second embodiment.

  In the alert table 21 (see FIG. 4) in the first embodiment, one type of alert word is associated with one type of importance. On the other hand, in the alert table 21A in the second embodiment, a plurality of alert words may be associated with one type of importance.

  More specifically, the alerting table 21A associates each of a plurality of importance levels with each of a plurality of alerting wordings. Multiple importance levels may be defined such that some of them are equal to each other. For example, the importance level “2” is associated with two alert wording “n-” and “ano”. The importance “3” is associated with three alert words “A”, “Anosa”, and “A little good”. The importance level “4” is associated with three alert words “I want you to listen for a moment”, “I'm sorry,” and “I want you to listen properly”. The importance level “5” is associated with two alert wording words “I'm important to say now” and “I won't say it again”.

  The above-described first specifying unit 310 (see FIG. 3) refers to the alert table 21A and identifies the alert word associated with the importance included in the message information. In a certain aspect, when there are a plurality of alert words associated with the importance included in the message information, the first specifying unit 310 randomly specifies one alert word from the plurality of alert words. To do. For example, when the importance level included in the message information is “3”, the first specifying unit 310 uses the three alert wordings “A”, “ANOSA”, “Slightly good” is selected (see dotted line 402), and one attention wording is specified at random from the three selected attention wordings.

  In another situation, when there are a plurality of alert wording corresponding to the importance, the first specifying unit 310 specifies an alert word different from the previous one from the plurality of alert wording. For example, when the importance level included in the message information is “3”, the first specifying unit 310 uses the three alert wordings “A”, “ANOSA”, “Slightly good” is selected (see dotted line 402). The 1st specific | specification part 310 specifies the alert wording different from the last time from three selected alert wording. For example, when the alert word “A” is spoken last time, the first specifying unit 310 utters either “Anosa” or “A little good” different from the alert word “A”. It is specified as a warning word for.

[Brief Summary]
As described above, in the alert table 21A of the present embodiment, a plurality of alert words may be associated with one type of importance. The cleaner 100B may utter the same alert word continuously by uttering a plurality of alert words associated with the same importance level randomly or differently from the previous one. decrease. As a result, various types of alert words are uttered, and the vacuum cleaner 100B can more reliably draw the user's attention when the message is uttered.

<Third Embodiment>
[Overview]
Vacuum cleaner 100A according to the first embodiment has received a message to be uttered from server 60. On the other hand, the cleaner 100C according to the third embodiment receives an identifier for identifying the message from the server 60, and specifies the message to be uttered from the identifier.

  Below, with reference to FIG. 8, 100 C of vacuum cleaners according to 3rd Embodiment are demonstrated. Since other points such as the hardware configuration of cleaner 100C are the same as those of the cleaner according to the above-described embodiments, description thereof will not be repeated. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the cleaner 100C. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the CPU 2 (see FIG. 6) of the cleaner 100 </ b> C includes a receiving unit 300, a first specifying unit 310, a second specifying unit 315, and an output unit 320. Note that the first specifying unit 310 is as described with reference to FIG.

  The receiving unit 300 receives message information from a device different from the cleaner 100C (for example, the server 60 (see FIG. 1) described above). In the present embodiment, the message information includes at least an identifier for identifying the message and an importance level. The identifier is represented by, for example, a message ID (Identification). The receiving unit 300 outputs the message ID included in the message information to the second specifying unit 315. In addition, the receiving unit 300 outputs the importance included in the message information to the first specifying unit 310.

  The second specifying unit 315 is associated with the message ID received by the receiving unit 300 based on the message table 22 (second information) that associates each of the plurality of identifiers with each of the plurality of messages. Identify the message to be spoken.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 9, the contents of the message table 22 and a specific example for specifying the alert wording from the message table 22 will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the contents of the message table 22. The message table 22 may be stored in advance in the cleaner 100C, or may be distributed from the server 60 as described later.

  The message table 22 associates message IDs and utterance target messages by message ID. For example, the message “Today is sunny” is associated with the message ID “2”. The message “Today is cloudy” is associated with the message ID “3”. The message “Today is raining” is associated with the message ID “4”. The message “trash is full” is associated with the message ID “5”. Note that the message ID is not necessarily associated with the message ID. For example, there may be no associated message such as message ID “1”.

  The second specifying unit 315 specifies the message associated with the message ID included in the message information with reference to the message table 22. More specifically, the second specifying unit 315 selects a message ID equal to the message ID included in the message information from the message IDs defined in the message table 22, and associates the message ID with the message ID. Is identified as the message to be uttered. For example, when the message ID included in the message information is “3”, the second specifying unit 315 uses the message “Today is cloudy” associated with the message ID “3” as the message to be uttered. Specify (see dotted line 403).

  Referring to FIG. 8 again, the output unit 320 outputs the alert word specified by the first specifying unit 310 and the message specified by the second specifying unit 315 to the speaker 4 (see FIG. 6). To do. Thereby, the message and the message are uttered from the speaker 4.

  Note that the output unit 320 does not necessarily output a message. For example, if there is no message associated with the message ID, the message need not be output to the speaker 4. In this case, the output unit 320 does not output an alert word to the speaker 4.

[Control structure]
With reference to FIG. 10, a control structure of cleaner 100C according to the third embodiment will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the process executed by cleaner 100C. The process in FIG. 10 is realized by the CPU 2 (see FIG. 6) of the cleaner 100C executing the program. In another aspect, part or all of the processing may be performed by a circuit element or other hardware. The process in step S102 in FIG. 10 is the same as the process in step S102 in FIG.

  In step S200, the CPU 2 receives message information from the server 60 as the receiving unit 300 (see FIG. 8). In the present embodiment, the message information includes at least a message ID for identifying the message and the importance of the message indicated by the message ID.

  In step S202, the CPU 2 specifies the message associated with the message ID received in step S200 based on the message table 22 (see FIG. 9) as the above-described second specifying unit 315 (see FIG. 8). . More specifically, the CPU 2 selects a message ID that is equal to the message ID received in step S200 from the plurality of message IDs included in the message table 22, and the message associated with the message ID. Is identified as the message to be uttered.

  In step S204, the CPU 2 outputs the alert word specified in step S102 and the message specified in step S202 to the speaker 4 (see FIG. 6) as the output unit 320 (see FIG. 8).

[Brief Summary]
As described above, cleaner 100C according to the present embodiment specifies a message to be uttered based on the message ID received from server 60. Since the data amount of the message ID is smaller than the data amount of the message itself, the server 60 can reduce the amount of data sent to the cleaner 100C. This is advantageous particularly when there are many devices connected to the server 60 or when the amount of data that can be transmitted is limited.

<Fourth embodiment>
[Overview]
Below, the cleaner 100D according to 4th Embodiment is demonstrated. Since other points such as the hardware configuration of cleaner 100D are the same as those of the cleaner according to each of the above-described embodiments, description thereof will not be repeated.

  The vacuum cleaner 100A according to the first embodiment uses the importance included in the message received from the server 60 (see FIG. 1) as it is, and specifies the alert word associated with the importance. . On the other hand, the vacuum cleaner 100D according to the fourth embodiment corrects the importance level of the message to be uttered according to the situation in which the vacuum cleaner 100D is currently placed, and associates the importance level with the corrected importance level. Identify alert wording.

  Some messages to be uttered change the message to be transmitted depending on the time of day, such as weather information and greetings. That is, the importance level of the message to be uttered changes according to the timing of utterance.

  Therefore, vacuum cleaner 100D according to the present embodiment corrects the importance level of the message to be uttered according to the time zone during which the message is uttered. For example, the vacuum cleaner 100D increases the importance of the message when the current time is within the valid period of the message to be uttered. Alternatively, the vacuum cleaner 100D reduces the importance of the message when the current time is within the invalid period of the message to be uttered or when the current time is outside the valid period of the message to be uttered.

  Thereafter, the vacuum cleaner 100D refers to the above-described attention calling table 21 (see FIG. 7) and identifies the warning wording associated with the corrected importance. Thereby, the cleaner 100D utters a warning wording adapted to its own situation.

[Function configuration]
With reference to FIG. 11, the function of cleaner 100D according to the fourth embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the cleaner 100D. As shown in FIG. 11, the CPU 2 (see FIG. 6) of the vacuum cleaner 100 </ b> D includes a receiving unit 300, a time acquisition unit 301, a third specifying unit 302, a correcting unit 308, a first specifying unit 310, A second specifying unit 315 and an output unit 320 are included. Receiving unit 300, first specifying unit 310, second specifying unit 315, and output unit 320 are the same as described with reference to FIGS.

  The time acquisition unit 301 acquires time information from the timepiece 7 (see FIG. 6). The time acquisition unit 301 acquires the current time from the time information, and outputs the current time to the third specifying unit 302.

  The third specifying unit 302 is based on the period table 23 (third information) in which each of the plurality of messages, the valid period or invalid period of the message, and the degree of importance correction of the message are associated with each other. The correction degree associated with the message to be uttered and the period including the current time is specified. The degree of correction is represented by a correction value, for example.

  Here, the contents of the period table 23 and a specific example for specifying the correction value from the period table 23 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the contents of the period table 23. The period table 23 may be stored in advance in the cleaner 100D, or may be distributed from the server 60 (see FIG. 1) as will be described later.

  The period table 23 associates each of a plurality of identifiers (for example, message IDs) for identifying a message, the valid period or invalid period of the message, and the degree of importance correction of the message with each other. That is, in the present embodiment, the correction value is uniquely associated with each combination of message ID and period.

  For example, the correction value “+3” is associated with the combination of the message ID “1” and the period “2014/10/18 10:00 to 11:00”. The correction value “+5” is associated with the combination of the message ID “1” and the period “2014/10/18 11:00 to 12:00”. The correction value “−3” is associated with the combination of the message ID “2” and the period “2014/10/19 10:00 to 12:00”. The correction value “+5” is associated with the combination of the message ID “2” and the period “2014/10/19 12:00 to 15:00”. Further, the correction value “−2” is associated with the combination of the message ID “2” and the period “2014/10/19 from 15:00 to 16:00”.

  The third specifying unit 302 refers to the period table 23 and specifies a correction value corresponding to the message ID included in the message information and the period including the current time. For example, when the message ID included in the message information is “1” and the current time is “2014/10/18 10:10”, the third specifying unit 302 includes the message ID “1” and the current time. The correction value “+5” associated with the period “2014/10/18 10:00 to 12:00” is specified (see the dotted line 405).

  In a certain aspect, when the period specified in the period table 23 indicates the effective period of the message, a positive correction value is associated with the period (see, for example, the dotted line 405). In another aspect, when the period specified in the period table 23 indicates the invalid period of the message, or when the period specified in the period table 23 indicates outside the valid period of the message, the period is negative. Are associated with each other (see, for example, dotted line 406).

  Referring to FIG. 11 again, the correction unit 308 corrects the importance included in the message information with the correction value specified by the third specification unit 302. Typically, the correction unit 308 adds the correction value to the importance level. For example, when the correction value is positive, that is, when the current time is within the valid period of the message, the correction unit 308 increases the importance by adding the positive correction value to the importance. On the other hand, when the correction value is negative, that is, when the current time is within the invalid period of the message, or when the current time is outside the valid period of the message, the correction unit 308 determines the negative correction value as important. Decrease importance by adding to degrees. The correcting unit 308 outputs the importance after correction to the first specifying unit 310.

  The first identifying unit 310 identifies the alert wording corresponding to the importance after the correction as the alert wording to be uttered based on the above-described alerting table 21 (see FIG. 4). In addition, since the identification method of a warning word is as above-mentioned, description is not repeated.

[Control structure]
With reference to FIG. 13, the control structure of cleaner 100D according to the fourth embodiment will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the process executed by cleaner 100D. The process of FIG. 13 is realized by the CPU 2 (see FIG. 6) of the cleaner 100D executing a program. In another aspect, part or all of the processing may be performed by a circuit element or other hardware. The processes in steps S104, S200, and S202 in FIG. 13 are the same as the processes shown in FIGS.

  In step S300, the CPU 2 acquires the current time from the clock 7 (see FIG. 6) as the above-described time acquisition unit 301 (see FIG. 11).

  In step S302, the CPU 2 serves as the third specifying unit 302 (see FIG. 11) described above, based on the period table 23 (see FIG. 12), the message ID included in the message information received in step S200, and in step S300. The correction value associated with the combination with the period including the specified current time is specified.

  In step S304, the CPU 2 corrects the importance included in the message information received in step S200 with the correction value specified in step S302 as the correction unit 308 (see FIG. 11). Typically, the CPU 2 adds the correction value specified in step S302 to the importance included in the message information received in step S200.

  In step S306, as the above-described first specifying unit 310 (see FIG. 11), the CPU 2 uses the alert table 21 (see FIG. 4) as the first specifying unit 310 (see FIG. 4) to alert the attention wording corresponding to the post-correction importance. Identifies as a rousing wording.

[Brief Summary]
As described above, cleaner 100D according to the present embodiment increases the importance of the message when the time when the message is uttered is within the validity period of the message. Thereby, the vacuum cleaner 100D can utter the alert wording with a stronger degree of alerting the user when the message to be uttered is within the valid period.

  On the other hand, cleaner 100D according to the present embodiment reduces the importance of the message when the time when the message is uttered is within the invalid period or outside the valid period of the message. This allows the user to more clearly distinguish between messages that are important and messages that are not important.

<Fifth embodiment>
[Overview]
Below, the cleaner 100E according to 5th Embodiment is demonstrated. Since other points such as the hardware configuration of cleaner 100E are the same as those of the cleaner according to each of the above-described embodiments, description thereof will not be repeated.

  The vacuum cleaner 100A according to the first embodiment uses the importance included in the message received from the server 60 (see FIG. 1) as it is, and specifies the alert word associated with the importance. . On the other hand, the cleaner 100E according to the fifth embodiment corrects the importance level of the message to be uttered in accordance with the situation where it is currently placed, and associates it with the corrected importance level. Identify alert wording.

  For example, some messages to be uttered vary depending on the area where the user is currently located, such as weather information and disaster information. That is, the importance level of the message to be uttered changes according to the current position of the user when the message is uttered.

  Therefore, the vacuum cleaner 100E changes the importance of the message according to its current position. For example, the cleaner 100E increases the importance of the message as its current position is closer to the delivery area of the message to be uttered. Moreover, the cleaner 100E reduces the importance of the message, as the current position of the cleaner 100E moves away from the delivery area of the message to be uttered.

  Thereafter, the vacuum cleaner 100E refers to the above-described attention calling table 21 (see FIG. 4) and identifies the warning wording associated with the corrected importance. Thereby, the vacuum cleaner 100E utters a warning wording adapted to its own situation.

[Function configuration]
With reference to FIG. 14, the function of cleaner 100E according to the fifth embodiment will be described. FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the cleaner 100E. As illustrated in FIG. 14, the CPU 2 (see FIG. 6) of the vacuum cleaner 100 </ b> E includes the reception unit 300, the detection unit 304, the fourth identification unit 306, the correction unit 308, the first identification unit 310, 2 specifying unit 315 and output unit 320. Receiving unit 300, first specifying unit 310, second specifying unit 315, and output unit 320 are the same as described with reference to FIGS.

  The detection unit 304 detects the current position of the cleaner 100E based on the position information of the cleaner 100E received by the GPS 8 (see FIG. 6). More specifically, the GPS 8 receives three or more GPS signals or a position signal (positioning signal) from the base station. When the GPS 8 receives three or more GPS signals, the detection unit 304 receives the GPS signals from the three or more artificial satellites until the cleaner 100E receives the GPS signals. The current position is calculated based on the time. Alternatively, when the GPS 8 receives a position signal (positioning signal), the detection unit 304 detects position information included in the position signal as a current position. The detection unit 304 outputs the current position of the cleaner 100E to the fourth identification unit 306.

  The fourth specifying unit 306 determines the utterance target based on the area table 24 (fourth information) in which each of the plurality of messages, the distribution area of the message, and the degree of importance correction of the message are associated with each other. The degree of correction associated with the message and the distribution area including the current position of the cleaner 100E is specified. The degree of correction is represented by a correction value, for example.

  Here, the contents of the area table 24 and a specific example for specifying the correction value from the area table 24 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 shows the contents of the area table 24. The area table 24 may be stored in advance in the cleaner 100E, or may be distributed from the server 60 (see FIG. 1) as will be described later.

  The area table 24 associates each of a plurality of identifiers (for example, message IDs) for identifying a message, a delivery area of the message, and a correction value for the importance of the message with each other. That is, in the present embodiment, the correction value is uniquely associated with each combination of message ID and distribution area.

  For example, the correction value “+2” is associated with the combination of the message ID “1” and the area “Tokyo”. Further, the correction value “+5” is associated with the combination of the message ID “1” and the area “Osaka”. A correction value “−3” is associated with the combination of the message ID “2” and the area “Tokyo”. Further, the correction value “+1” is associated with the combination of the message ID “2” and the area “Osaka”. Further, the correction value “−2” is associated with the combination of the message ID “2” and the area “Fukuoka”.

  The fourth specifying unit 306 refers to the area table 24 and specifies a correction value corresponding to the message ID included in the message information and the area including the current position of the cleaner 100E. For example, when the message ID included in the message information is “1” and the current position of the cleaner 100E is included in the area “Osaka”, the fourth specifying unit 306 sets the message ID “1” and the area “Osaka”. The associated correction value “+5” is specified (see dotted line 408).

  In a certain aspect, when the relevance between the content of the message to be distributed and the distribution area is high, a positive correction value is associated with the distribution area (for example, see dotted line 408). Further, when the relationship between the content of the message to be distributed and the distribution area is low, a positive correction value is associated (for example, see dotted line 408).

  Referring to FIG. 14 again, the correction unit 308 corrects the importance included in the message information with the correction value specified by the fourth specifying unit 306. Typically, the correcting unit 308 adds the correction value specified by the fourth specifying unit 306 to the importance included in the message information. For example, when the correction value is positive, the correction unit 308 increases the importance by adding the positive correction value to the importance. On the other hand, when the correction value is negative, the correction unit 308 decreases the importance by adding the negative correction value to the importance. The correcting unit 308 outputs the importance after correction to the first specifying unit 310.

  The first identifying unit 310 identifies the alert wording corresponding to the importance after the correction as the alert wording to be uttered based on the above-described alerting table 21 (see FIG. 4). In addition, since the identification method of a warning word is as above-mentioned, description is not repeated.

[Control structure]
With reference to FIG. 16, the control structure of cleaner 100E according to the fifth embodiment will be described. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the process executed by cleaner 100E. The process of FIG. 16 is realized by the CPU 2 (see FIG. 6) of the cleaner 100E executing a program. In another aspect, part or all of the processing may be performed by a circuit element or other hardware. The processes in steps S104, S200, and S202 in FIG. 16 are the same as the processes shown in FIGS.

  In step S400, CPU2 acquires the positional information on the cleaner 100E from GPS8 (refer FIG. 6) as the above-mentioned detection part 304 (refer FIG. 14). The CPU 2 detects the current position of the cleaner 100E based on the position information.

  In step S402, the CPU 2 uses the message ID included in the message information received in step S200 based on the area table 24 (see FIG. 15) as the above-described fourth specifying unit 306 (see FIG. 14), and in step S400. A correction value associated with the detected area including the current position of the cleaner 100E is specified.

  In step S404, the CPU 2 corrects the importance included in the message information received in step S200 with the correction value specified in step S402 as the correction unit 308 (see FIG. 14). Typically, the CPU 2 adds the correction value specified in step S402 to the importance included in the message information received in step S200.

  In step S <b> 406, the CPU 2 uses the first specifying unit 310 (see FIG. 14) described above as the utterance target attention wording corresponding to the post-correction importance based on the alert table 21 (see FIG. 4). Identifies as a rousing wording.

[Brief Summary]
As described above, cleaner 100E according to the present embodiment corrects the importance of the message according to the current position. Thereby, when the relevance between the content of the message to be uttered and the area where the user is high, the vacuum cleaner 100E can utter a warning word that has a stronger degree of alerting the user. On the other hand, when the relevance between the content of the message to be uttered and the area where the user is low, the cleaner 100E reduces the importance of the message. This allows the user to more clearly distinguish between messages that are important and messages that are not important.

<Sixth Embodiment>
[Overview]
Below, the cleaner 100F according to 6th Embodiment is demonstrated. Since other points such as the hardware configuration and functional configuration of vacuum cleaner 100F are the same as those of the vacuum cleaner according to each of the above-described embodiments, description thereof will not be repeated.

  The vacuum cleaner according to each embodiment described above managed the message table 22, the period table 23, and the area table 24 individually. Since these tables are managed individually, the elements specified in each table are less likely to be duplicated. Therefore, the cleaner eliminates the complexity of updating the elements specified in each table. I was able to. Moreover, since the elements defined in each table are less likely to overlap, the cleaner can reduce the data size of each table.

  On the other hand, the cleaner 100F according to the present embodiment integrally manages the message table 22, the period table 23, and the area table 24. By managing these tables integrally, the cleaner 100F can reduce the number of tables to be managed. As a result, the vacuum cleaner 100F can eliminate the complexity of table management.

  With reference to FIG. 17, the integrated table 30 which integrated the message table 22, the period table 23, and the area table 24 is demonstrated. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the contents of the integration table 30. The integrated table 30 may be stored in advance in the cleaner 100F, or may be distributed from the server 60 (see FIG. 1).

  The integration table 30 includes a plurality of identifiers (for example, message IDs) for identifying a message, a message indicated by the message ID, a validity period or invalid period of the message, a delivery area of the message, The importance level correction value of the message is associated with each other. In the present embodiment, the correction value is uniquely associated with each combination of message ID, period, and area.

  For example, the correction value “+3” is associated with the combination of the message ID “1”, the period “2014/10/18 10:00 to 11:00”, and the area “Tokyo”. Further, the correction value “+5” is associated with the combination of the message ID “1”, the period “2014/10/18 11:00 to 12:00” and the area “Osaka”. A correction value “−3” is associated with a combination of the message ID “2”, the period “2014/10/19 10:00 to 12:00”, and the area “Tokyo”. Further, the correction value “+5” is associated with the combination of the message ID “2”, the period “2014/10/19 12:00 to 15:00” and the area “Osaka”. Furthermore, the correction value “−2” is associated with the combination of the message ID “2”, the period “2014/10/19 from 15:00 to 16:00” and the area “Fukuoka”.

  Based on the integrated table 30, the cleaner 100F specifies a correction value associated with the combination of the received message ID, the period including the current time, and the area including the current position of the cleaner 100F. For example, when the received message ID is “2”, the current time is “2014/10/19 11:00”, and the current position of the cleaner 100F is Tokyo, the cleaner 100F receives the message ID “ 2 ”, a correction value“ −3 ”associated with a combination of a period“ 2014/10/19 from 10:00 to 12:00 ”including the current time and an area“ Tokyo ”including the current position ( (See dotted line 411).

  The vacuum cleaner 100F corrects the received importance using the specified correction value. Since the method for correcting the importance level and the method for specifying the alert wording from the corrected importance level are as described above, the description will not be repeated.

[Brief Summary]
As described above, vacuum cleaner 100F according to the present embodiment integrally manages message table 22, period table 23, and area table 24. By managing these tables integrally, the cleaner 100F can reduce the number of tables to be managed. As a result, the vacuum cleaner 100F can eliminate the complexity of table management.

<Seventh embodiment>
[Overview]
With reference to FIG. 18, a vacuum cleaner 100G according to the seventh embodiment will be described. Since other points such as the hardware configuration of cleaner 100G are the same as those of the cleaner according to each of the above-described embodiments, description thereof will not be repeated. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the vacuum cleaner 100G is speaking to the user 210 around him.

  100 A of vacuum cleaners according to 1st Embodiment attracted the user's attention by uttering an alert wording when uttering a message. On the other hand, the cleaner 100G according to the seventh embodiment further draws the user's attention by speaking the name of the user existing in the surroundings.

  FIG. 18 shows an example in which the vacuum cleaner 100G issues a warning message including the name “Ano ~, Mr. A” to the user 210 whose name is Mr. A. Thus, the cleaner 100G speaks the user's name, so that the cleaner 100G can draw the user's attention more reliably.

[Function configuration]
With reference to FIG. 19, the function of the cleaner 100G according to the seventh embodiment will be described. FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the vacuum cleaner 100G. As illustrated in FIG. 19, the CPU 2 (see FIG. 6) of the vacuum cleaner 100 </ b> G includes the receiving unit 300, the first specifying unit 310, the second specifying unit 315, the calculating unit 316, and the fifth specifying unit 318. , And an output unit 320. The receiving unit 300 and the second specifying unit 315 are the same as described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 8, and therefore description thereof will not be repeated.

  The vacuum cleaner 100G has a function of identifying the names of individuals around the vacuum cleaner 100G. There are various ways to identify an individual's name. For example, the vacuum cleaner 100G specifies the name of an individual from voice data obtained by collecting sounds from the surroundings of the vacuum cleaner 100G. Alternatively, the vacuum cleaner 100G may specify an individual's name from image data obtained by photographing the surroundings of the cleaner 100G. Alternatively, when the user of the vacuum cleaner 100G is limited to a specific individual, the name of the user may be registered in the vacuum cleaner 100G in advance. Hereinafter, as an example of a method for specifying an individual's name, a method for specifying an individual based on audio data and a method for specifying an individual based on image data will be described.

(How to identify personal names from audio data)
First, a method for identifying an individual name based on audio data will be described. In a certain aspect, the calculation unit 316 illustrated in FIG. 19 includes sound data obtained by the above-described microphone 5 (see FIG. 6) collecting sound from around the cleaner 100G, and sound data representing individual characteristics. The degree of similarity between each is calculated. The voice data representing the characteristics of each individual is defined in advance in the name table 25, for example. The voice data may be voice data itself obtained by collecting personal voices, or may be a feature amount extracted from the voice data.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 20, the content of the name table 25 and a specific example for identifying an individual based on the name table 25 will be described. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the contents of the name table 25. The name table 25 may be stored in advance in the cleaner 100G, or may be distributed from the server 60 (see FIG. 1) as will be described later.

  FIG. 20A shows a name table 25A that defines voice data representing individual characteristics as an example of the name table 25. The name table 25A associates each of a plurality of audio data representing characteristics for each individual with each of the names of the individual. In the example shown in FIG. 20A, the name “Taro” is associated with the voice data “voice data A” indicating individual characteristics. The name “Hanako” is associated with the voice data “voice data B” indicating individual characteristics.

  The calculation unit 316 calculates the similarity between the sound data obtained by the microphone 5 collecting sound from around the vacuum cleaner 100G and the sound data indicating individual characteristics shown in the name table 25A. For example, the similarity is calculated by so-called template matching in which the voice data shown in the name table 25A is used as a template and matching between the template and voice data from the microphone 5 is performed. The calculating unit 316 outputs the calculated similarity to the fifth specifying unit 318.

  The fifth specifying unit 318 is calculated by the calculation unit 316 based on the name table 25A (fifth information) that associates each of the voice data representing the characteristics of each individual with each of the individual names. The name associated with the voice data whose similarity exceeds a predetermined threshold is specified. For example, when the similarity between “voice data B” shown in the name table 25A and the voice data from the microphone 5 exceeds a predetermined threshold, the fifth specifying unit 318 associates with “voice data B”. The name “Hanako” is identified as the name of the person around the vacuum cleaner 100G (see dotted line 413). The fifth specifying unit 318 outputs the specified name to the first specifying unit 310.

(How to identify personal names from image data)
Next, a method for specifying an individual's name based on image data will be described. In another aspect, the calculation unit 316 illustrated in FIG. 19 includes image data obtained by photographing the surroundings of the cleaner 100G with the above-described camera 6 (see FIG. 6), and image data representing individual characteristics. The degree of similarity between each is calculated. The image data representing the characteristics of each individual is defined in the name table 25, for example. The image data may be a pixel value itself of image data obtained by photographing an individual, or may be a feature amount extracted from the image data.

  Here, referring to FIG. 20 again, the contents of the name table 25 and a specific example of specifying an individual based on the name table 25 will be described. FIG. 20B shows a name table 25B that defines image data representing individual characteristics as an example of the name table 25. The name table 25B may be stored in the vacuum cleaner 100G in advance, or may be distributed from the server 60 (see FIG. 1) as will be described later.

  The name table 25B associates each piece of image data representing individual characteristics with each individual name. In the example shown in FIG. 20B, the name “Taro” is associated with the image data “image data E” indicating individual characteristics. The name “Hanako” is associated with the image data “image data F” indicating individual characteristics.

  The calculation unit 316 calculates the degree of similarity between the image data obtained by the camera 6 photographing the surroundings of the cleaner 100G and the image data indicating individual characteristics shown in the name table 25B. For example, the similarity is calculated by so-called template matching in which image data shown in the name table 25B is used as a template and matching between the template and image data from the camera 6 is performed. The calculating unit 316 outputs the calculated similarity to the fifth specifying unit 318.

  The fifth specifying unit 318 is calculated by the calculation unit 316 based on the name table 25B (fifth information) that associates each of the image data representing the characteristics of each individual with each of the names of the individual. The name associated with the image data whose similarity exceeds a predetermined threshold is specified. For example, when the degree of similarity between “image data E” shown in the name table 25B and the image data from the camera 6 exceeds a predetermined threshold, the fifth specifying unit 318 associates with “image data E”. The name “Taro” is identified as the name of the person around the vacuum cleaner 100G (see dotted line 414). The fifth specifying unit 318 outputs the specified name to the first specifying unit 310.

(How to include the specified name in the alert wording)
As described above, the first specifying unit 310 specifies the alert wording associated with the importance received by the receiving unit 300 based on the alert table 21. At this time, the first specifying unit 310 includes the name specified by the fifth specifying unit 318 in the alert wording, and then outputs the alert wording to the output unit 320. The position where the name is inserted into the alert wording is arbitrary. For example, the name may be inserted at the beginning of the alert word, may be inserted in the middle of the alert word, or may be inserted after the alert word.

  Preferably, the position where the name is inserted into the alert wording is defined in the alert table 21B, which is an example of the alert table 21. Here, with reference to FIG. 21, the content of the alerting table 21B and the specific example which inserts a name into an alerting wording with reference to the said alerting table 21B are demonstrated. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the contents of the alerting table 21B. The attention calling table 21B may be stored in the vacuum cleaner 100G in advance, or may be distributed from the server 60 (see FIG. 1) as described later.

  The alerting table 21B associates importance and alerting words according to importance. In the alert wording, the insertion position of the name specified by the fifth specifying unit 318 is defined. For example, the importance level “3” is associated with the alert wording “Anosa <target person name>” in which the insertion position of the name is defined. The name is inserted at the position of <subject name> in the alert wording. Similarly, the importance level “4” is associated with the alert wording “<target person name>, I want you to ask me for a moment”, which defines the insertion position of the name. The importance level “5” is associated with an alert wording “<name of subject>, what is important to say from now on” that defines the insertion position of the name.

  As an example, when the importance level of the utterance target is “3”, the first identification unit 310 identifies the word “Anosa <target person name>” as the utterance alert word (dotted line). 416). The first identification unit 310 outputs the identified alert word to the output unit 320. When the name specified by the fifth specifying unit 318 is “Taro”, the output unit 320 (see FIG. 19) displays the <target of the utterance target alert word “Anosa <name of subject>”. After inserting the name “Taro” at the position of <name>, the alert wording “Taro Anosa” and the message to be uttered are output.

  Preferably, cleaner 100G utters a name only when the importance of a message to be uttered is equal to or higher than a predetermined importance. In the example shown in FIG. 21, since the insertion position of the name is not defined in the alert word associated with the importance of “2” or less, the importance of the message to be uttered is “2” or less. The name is not spoken. As a result, the name is uttered only when a message with high importance is uttered.

  In addition, when the fifth specifying unit 318 cannot specify an individual name, a general-purpose name may be inserted into the alert wording. For example, general-purpose names include names such as “master” and “owner”.

[Control structure]
With reference to FIG. 22, the control structure of cleaner 100G according to the sixth embodiment will be described. FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a process executed by cleaner 100G. The process in FIG. 22 is realized by the CPU 2 (see FIG. 6) of the cleaner 100G executing a program. In another aspect, part or all of the processing may be performed by a circuit element or other hardware. Note that the processing in steps S200 and S202 in FIG. 22 is the same as the processing shown in FIG.

  In step S500, CPU 2 obtains data representing individual characteristics existing around cleaner 100G. The data is obtained, for example, by voice data obtained by the microphone 5 (see FIG. 6) collecting sound from around the cleaner 100G, or by photographing the surroundings of the cleaner 100G by the camera 6 (see FIG. 6). Image data.

  In step S502, the CPU 2 calculates the similarity between the data acquired in step S500 and the data representing individual characteristics included in the name table 25B as the above-described calculation unit 316 (see FIG. 19). . Since the similarity calculation method is as described above, the description will not be repeated.

  In step S504, the CPU 2 specifies, as the above-described fifth specifying unit 318 (see FIG. 19), a name in which a predetermined similarity is associated with data from the name table 25B. Since the method for identifying the name is as described above, the description will not be repeated.

  In step S506, the CPU 2 specifies the alert wording associated with the importance received in step S200, based on the alert table 21B (see FIG. 21), as the first specifying unit 310 described above.

  In step S508, the CPU 2 includes the name specified in step S506 as the above-described output unit 320 (see FIG. 19) in a predetermined position of the warning message specified in step S506, and then the warning message. And the message to be uttered.

[Brief Summary]
As described above, vacuum cleaner 100G according to the present embodiment specifies the names of persons around him, includes the names in the alert wording, and then utters the alert wording and the message. . The cleaner 100G utters the user's name according to the importance of the message, so that the user's attention can be more reliably drawn when an important message is uttered.

<Eighth Embodiment>
[Overview]
With reference to FIG. 23, a cleaner 100H according to the eighth embodiment will be described. Since other points such as the hardware configuration of vacuum cleaner 100H are the same as the vacuum cleaners according to the above-described embodiments, description thereof will not be repeated. FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a state where the vacuum cleaner 100H is speaking.

  Vacuum cleaner 100A according to the first embodiment utters an alert wording and a message in a predetermined tone. In contrast, the vacuum cleaner 100H according to the eighth embodiment changes the tone at the time of utterance of the alert wording according to the importance of the message to be uttered. For example, when the cleaner 100H utters a highly important message, as shown in FIG. 23A, the cleaner 100H utters an alert word in a tone that is easy for the user to hear. On the other hand, when the cleaner 100H utters a low importance message, the cleaner 100H utters an alert word in a normal tone as shown in FIG.

  Thus, the cleaner 100H can draw the attention of the user more reliably by changing the tone according to the importance of the message to be uttered and speaking the alert word.

[Function configuration]
With reference to FIG. 24, the function of the cleaner 100H according to the eighth embodiment will be described. FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the cleaner 100H. As illustrated in FIG. 24, the CPU 2 (see FIG. 6) of the vacuum cleaner 100H includes a receiving unit 300, a first specifying unit 310, a second specifying unit 315, and an output unit 320A. The receiving unit 300, the first specifying unit 310, and the second specifying unit 315 are as described with reference to FIG.

  The output unit 320A changes the tone at the time of utterance of the alert wording according to the importance level associated with the message to be uttered. For example, when the importance level is higher than a predetermined level, the output unit 320A changes the tone at the time of the utterance of the alert word to a tone that is easier for the user to hear than the default state.

  As an example, changing to a tone that is easy for the user to hear includes increasing the amplitude of the audio signal representing the alert wording. Thereby, the volume at the time of the utterance of the alert word is increased. In addition, changing to a tone that is easy for the user to hear includes shortening the wavelength of the audio signal representing the alert wording. Thereby, the pitch (tone) at the time of the utterance of the alert word is increased. In addition, changing to a tone that is easy for the user to hear includes slowing down the speed at the time of uttering the alert wording.

  On the other hand, the output unit 320A does not change the tone at the time of utterance of the alert word when the importance associated with the message to be uttered is equal to or lower than the predetermined importance. Alternatively, the output unit 320A changes the tone at the time of utterance of the alert wording to a tone that is harder for the user to hear than in the default state when the importance is equal to or lower than the predetermined importance.

  As an example, changing to a tone that is difficult for the user to hear includes lowering the amplitude of the audio signal representing the alert wording. Thereby, the volume at the time of the utterance of the alert wording is reduced. In addition, changing to a tone that is difficult for the user to hear includes increasing the wavelength of the audio signal representing the alert wording. Thereby, the pitch (tone) at the time of utterance of the alert wording is lowered. In addition, changing to a tone that is difficult for the user to hear includes increasing the speed at the time of uttering the alert wording.

  In the above description, an example in which the output unit 320A changes the tone of the alert wording has been described. However, the output unit 320A may be configured to change the tone of the message to be uttered.

[Brief Summary]
As described above, the vacuum cleaner 100H according to the present embodiment utters a warning wording in a manner that is easy for the user to hear when the importance level of the message to be uttered is higher than the predetermined importance level. Thereby, the cleaner 100H can draw a user's attention more reliably when speaking an important message.

  On the other hand, vacuum cleaner 100H according to the present embodiment does not change the tone at the time of utterance of the alert word when the importance of the message to be uttered is equal to or lower than the predetermined importance. Alternatively, the vacuum cleaner 100H utters a warning wording in a manner that is difficult for the user to hear when the importance of the message to be uttered is equal to or lower than a predetermined importance. This allows the user to more clearly distinguish between messages that are important and messages that are not important.

<Ninth embodiment>
[Overview]
With reference to FIG. 25, a cleaner 100I according to the ninth embodiment will be described. Since other points such as the hardware configuration of vacuum cleaner 100I are the same as those of the vacuum cleaner according to the above-described embodiments, description thereof will not be repeated.

  In the ninth embodiment, the above-mentioned attention calling table 21 (see FIG. 4), the above-mentioned message table 22 (see FIG. 9), the above-mentioned period table 23 (see FIG. 12), the above-mentioned area table 24 (see FIG. 15), a table such as the above-described name table 25 (see FIG. 20) is distributed from the server 60 to the cleaner 100I. Hereinafter, data including one or more of the alerting table 21, the message table 22, the period table 23, the area table 24, and the name table 25 is also referred to as “table information”.

  FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an overview of a control system 50 including a cleaner 100I according to the ninth embodiment. The control system 50 includes a server 60 and electronic devices connected to the server 60 on the network. FIG. 25 shows a vacuum cleaner 100I, a refrigerator 106, and a washing machine 107 as examples of the electronic device.

  The server 60 distributes the table information according to the type of electronic device to be distributed. In the example shown in FIG. 25, the server 60 distributes table information 40A corresponding to the cleaner 100I to the cleaner 100I. The vacuum cleaner 100I updates the held table with a new table included in the received table information 40A.

  Further, the server 60 distributes table information 40 </ b> B corresponding to the refrigerator 106 to the refrigerator 106. The refrigerator 106 updates the held table with a new table included in the received table information 40B.

  Further, the server 60 distributes table information 40C corresponding to the washing machine 107 to the washing machine 107. The washing machine 107 updates the held table with a new table included in the received table information 40C.

  As described above, the server 60 centrally manages the table information distributed to each electronic device. This eliminates the complexity of table management. In addition, the contents of the table managed by each electronic device can be easily updated.

[data flow]
With reference to FIG. 26, a method for updating the table of each electronic device constituting the control system 50 will be described. FIG. 26 is a sequence diagram showing the data flow in the control system 50 in time series. FIG. 26 illustrates a vacuum cleaner 100I and a refrigerator 106 as examples of electronic devices that communicate with the server 60.

  In sequence SQ10, vacuum cleaner 100I transmits to server 60 a request for newly acquiring table information. At this time, the vacuum cleaner 100I includes device information for identifying itself in the request. The request is transmitted at regular intervals or based on an instruction from the user of the cleaner 100I.

  In sequence SQ12, server 60 specifies table information 40A corresponding to cleaner 100I based on the received device information. In sequence SQ14, server 60 transmits specified table information 40A to cleaner 100I.

  In sequence SQ16, the vacuum cleaner 100I updates each held table with a new table included in the received table information 40A. Typically, the vacuum cleaner 100I overwrites the corresponding table with a new table included in the table information 40A.

  In sequence SQ20, refrigerator 106 transmits a request for newly acquiring table information to server 60. At this time, the refrigerator 106 includes device information for identifying itself in the request. The request is transmitted at regular intervals or based on an instruction from the user of the refrigerator 106, for example.

  In sequence SQ22, server 60 specifies table information 40B corresponding to refrigerator 106 based on the received device information. In sequence SQ24, server 60 transmits specified table information 40B to refrigerator 106.

  In sequence SQ26, the refrigerator 106 updates each held table with a new table included in the received table information 40B. Typically, the refrigerator 106 overwrites the corresponding table with a new table included in the table information 40B.

  In the above description, an example in which the server 60 transmits table information based on a request transmitted from each electronic device has been described. However, the server 60 does not receive the request, and each electronic device It may be configured to transmit the table information corresponding to the item at regular intervals.

[Brief Summary]
As described above, cleaner 100I according to the present embodiment updates the held table based on the table information transmitted from server 60. Thereby, the cleaner 100I can change the content of the message to utter and the alert wording. As a result, the vacuum cleaner 100I can utter various messages and alert words.

  In the present embodiment, the server 60 centrally manages the table information, and the server 60 distributes the table information corresponding to the type of electronic device to each electronic device. Thereby, each electronic device can utter a message and a warning word suitable for the type of device. Further, the table information is centrally managed by the server 60, thereby eliminating the complexity of table management.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  1 ROM, 2 CPU, 3 RAM, 4 Speaker, 5 Microphone, 6 Camera, 7 Clock, 7A, 8A, 10A Antenna, 9 Monitor, 20 Storage device, 21, 21A, 21B Alert table, 22 Message table, 23 Period Table, 24 Area table, 25, 25A, 25B Name table, 30 Integrated table, 40A-40C Table information, 50 Control system, 60 Server, 100A-100I Vacuum cleaner, 101 Air conditioner, 102 Lighting equipment, 103 Television, 104 Air Cleaner, 105 Microwave Oven, 106 Refrigerator, 107 Washing Machine, 108 Electric Curtain, 109 Electric Shutter, 110 Smartphone, 210 User, 300 Receiver, 301 Time Acquisition Unit, 302 Third Identification Unit, 304 Detection Part, 306 fourth identification part, 308 correction part, 310 first identification part, 315 second identification part, 316 calculation part, 318 fifth identification part, 320, 320A output part, 401-403, 405, 406, 408, 409, 411, 413, 414, 416 dotted line.

Claims (16)

An electronic device that utters a message,
An electronic device that utters an alert wording according to the message when the message is uttered. The message is associated with the importance of the message,
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device specifies an attention wording associated with the importance level, and utters the specified attention wording when speaking the message.   The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the electronic device utters the message after uttering the alert wording. The electronic device is
Based on the first information that associates each of the plurality of importance levels and each of the plurality of alert wordings with each other, for identifying the alert wording that is associated with the importance level of the message to be uttered A first specific part;
The electronic device according to claim 2, further comprising: an output unit configured to output the alert wording specified by the first specifying unit and the message to be uttered. The electronic device further includes a receiving unit for receiving the message to be uttered and the importance associated with the message from a device different from the electronic device,
The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the output unit outputs the alert word specified by the first specifying unit and the message received by the receiving unit. The electronic device is
A receiving unit for receiving an identifier for identifying the message to be uttered and an importance level associated with the message from a device different from the electronic device;
A second specifying unit for specifying a message associated with the identifier received by the receiving unit based on second information that associates each of the plurality of identifiers with each of the plurality of messages. And further comprising
The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the output unit outputs the alert word specified by the first specifying unit and the message specified by the second specifying unit. The electronic device is
A time acquisition unit for acquiring the current time;
Based on the third information in which each of the plurality of messages, the validity period or invalidity period of the message, and the degree of importance correction of the message are associated with each other, the message to be uttered, and the current time A third specifying unit for specifying a correction degree associated with the effective period or the ineffective period,
A correction unit for correcting the importance level associated with the message to be uttered with the correction level specified by the third specifying unit;
The said 1st specific | specification part specifies the alerting wording matched with the importance after correction | amendment as said alerting wording of utterance based on said 1st information, The any one of Claims 4-6 The electronic device as described in the paragraph. The electronic device is
A detection unit for detecting the current position of the electronic device;
Based on the fourth information in which each of the plurality of messages, the distribution area of the message, and the correction degree of the importance of the message are associated with each other, the distribution area including the message to be uttered and the current position A fourth specifying unit for specifying the correction degree associated with
A correction unit for correcting the importance level associated with the message to be uttered with the correction level specified by the fourth specifying unit;
The said 1st specific | specification part specifies the alerting wording matched with the importance after correction | amendment as said alerting wording of utterance based on said 1st information, The any one of Claims 4-7 The electronic device as described in the paragraph.   9. The output unit according to claim 4, wherein the output unit includes the name of a person around the electronic device in the alert wording to be uttered, and outputs the alert wording and the message. The electronic device as described in the paragraph. The electronic device is
With a microphone,
A calculation unit for calculating the similarity between the sound data obtained by collecting the microphone from the periphery of the electronic device and each of the sound data representing the characteristics of each individual;
Audio data whose similarity calculated by the calculation unit exceeds a predetermined value based on the fifth information in which each of the audio data representing the characteristics of each individual is associated with each of the names of the individual And a fifth identifying unit for identifying a name associated with
The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the output unit includes the name specified by the fifth specifying unit in the alert wording to be uttered, and then outputs the alert wording and the message. . The electronic device is
A camera,
A calculation unit for calculating the similarity between the image data obtained by the camera imaging the surroundings of the electronic device and each of the image data representing individual characteristics;
Image data in which the similarity calculated by the calculation unit exceeds a predetermined value based on the fifth information that associates each of the image data representing the characteristics of each individual with each of the names of the individual And a fifth identifying unit for identifying a name associated with
The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the output unit includes the name specified by the fifth specifying unit in the alert wording to be uttered, and then outputs the alert wording and the message. .   The electronic device according to any one of claims 4 to 11, wherein the output unit changes a tone at the time of utterance of the alert word according to the importance level associated with the message to be uttered. . A home appliance that utters a message,
A home appliance that utters an alert wording according to the message when the message is uttered. A control system for an electronic device that utters a message,
A control system that, when speaking the message, causes the electronic device to execute a process of uttering a warning wording according to the message. A method for controlling an electronic device that utters a message,
A control method of causing the electronic device to execute a process of uttering an alert wording according to the message when the message is uttered. A control program executed on a computer that utters a message,
The control program causes the computer to execute a process of uttering an alert wording according to the message when the message is uttered.

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