阅读说明：本技术 语音输出装置及电气设备 (Voice output device and electrical equipment ) 是由 藤井贵英 于 2020-02-06 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种语音输出装置,构成为从输出语音消息或旋律的语音输出装置输出操作音,并且在语音消息或旋律的输出中需要输出操作音的情况下,不会在中途使语音消息或旋律停止且能够以适当的时机输出操作音。语音输出装置具备：扬声器；以及语音控制部,其在将语音消息或旋律的语音信号向扬声器供给过程中需要输出操作音的情况下,不使语音消息或旋律的语音信号的供给中断,而将操作音与语音消息或旋律合成来供给。(The invention provides a voice output device, which is configured to output an operation sound from a voice output device for outputting a voice message or melody, and can output the operation sound at an appropriate timing without stopping the voice message or melody in the middle of outputting the voice message or melody when the operation sound needs to be output during outputting the voice message or melody. The voice output device is provided with: a speaker; and a voice control unit which, when the operation sound needs to be output while the voice message or the voice signal of the melody is being supplied to the speaker, synthesizes the operation sound with the voice message or the melody and supplies the synthesized signal without interrupting the supply of the voice message or the voice signal of the melody.)

1. A speech output device is characterized by comprising:

a speaker; and

and a voice control unit which, when an operation sound needs to be output while the voice message or the voice signal of the melody is being supplied to the speaker, synthesizes the operation sound with the voice message or the melody and supplies the synthesized voice without interrupting supply of the voice message or the voice signal of the melody.

2. The speech output apparatus of claim 1,

the voice control unit synthesizes the operation sound after reducing the volume of the voice message or the melody.

3. The speech output apparatus of claim 2,

the voice control unit synthesizes the voice signal of the operation sound after reducing the amplitude of the voice signal of the voice message or melody.

4. The speech output apparatus of claim 3,

the voice control unit reduces the amplitude of the voice signal of the voice message or melody by at least the amplitude of the voice signal of the operation sound.

5. The speech output apparatus of claim 2,

the voice message or the melody is a synthesized sound obtained by synthesizing sounds of voice data of a plurality of tracks,

the voice control unit synthesizes the operation sound after at least one of the plurality of tracks is reduced.

6. The speech output apparatus of claim 5,

the voice control unit includes a lowest sound track among the plurality of sound tracks in the sound track to be reduced.

7. The speech output apparatus of claim 5,

the voice control unit includes a track with a smallest volume among the plurality of tracks in the track to be reduced.

8. An electrical apparatus, characterized in that,

a speech output device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a voice output device mounted on an electrical apparatus and an electrical apparatus.

Background

Conventionally, there are apparatuses as follows: an electric device such as a home appliance is provided with a voice output device including an amplifier circuit and a speaker, and outputs a voice message and a melody to notify a user that the electric device is in a predetermined state. If the predetermined state is, for example, an air cleaner, the filter needs to be cleaned and exchanged, and the humidification water needs to be replenished. When the air cleaner is in such a state, the output "please clean the filter". "," the water tank is empty. Make up water. "etc. voice message or prescribed melody. There is also an electric device that outputs a registered message as one of voice messages (for example, patent document 1).

In addition to the voice message and melody of the voice output device described above, there is an electric device that outputs (generates) an operation sound such as "beep" or "beep" when a switch or a remote controller is operated. Such an electric device includes, in addition to the voice output device, an amplifier circuit for operation sound, a piezoelectric buzzer, and the like.

However, in a configuration including devices for operation sound (such as an amplifier circuit and a piezoelectric buzzer) in addition to the voice output device, the number of components is increased, and thus the cost inevitably increases. Patent document 2 discloses a system for outputting an operation sound using a voice output device in view of such a problem. With this arrangement, it is not necessary to separately provide a device for operation sound, and therefore the number of components can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In the configuration of patent document 2, when the output of the operation sound is required for outputting the voice message, any one of the following timings is set: 1) outputting the operation sound after finishing the voice message under output, 2) outputting the operation sound at a point of time when an arbitrary phrase of the voice message under output ends, and 3) forcibly stopping the voice message under output and outputting the operation sound.

However, there is a problem that the operation sound cannot be output at the timing of receiving the operation at the timings of 1) and 2). Further, at the timing of 3), there is a problem that the voice message is interrupted halfway and the last is not heard. Particularly, when the voice message is a message, the message cannot be accurately confirmed.

An object of one aspect of the present invention is to provide a voice output device and an electrical apparatus configured to output an operation sound from a voice output device that outputs a voice message or a melody, and to output the operation sound at an appropriate timing without stopping the voice message or the melody in the middle of outputting the voice message or the melody when the operation sound needs to be output.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve the above problem, a speech output device according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a speaker; and a voice control unit which, when an operation sound needs to be output while the voice message or the voice signal of the melody is being supplied to the speaker, synthesizes the operation sound with the voice message or the melody and supplies the synthesized voice without interrupting supply of the voice message or the voice signal of the melody.

Effects of the invention

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a voice output device and an electric apparatus configured to output an operation sound from a voice output device that outputs a voice message or a melody, and to output the operation sound at an appropriate timing without stopping the voice message or the melody in the middle of outputting the voice message or the melody when the operation sound needs to be output during outputting the voice message or the melody.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an air cleaner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating synthesis of a voice signal of a voice message and a voice signal of an operation sound by a voice control unit provided in the control unit of the air purifier shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an output process of an operation sound by a voice control unit provided in the control unit of the air cleaner shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating synthesis of a voice signal of a melody and a voice signal of an operation sound by a voice control unit provided in the control unit of the air purifier according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an output process of an operation sound by a voice control unit provided in the control unit of the air cleaner shown in fig. 4.

Detailed Description

[ first embodiment ]

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. In the present embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to the air cleaner 1 which is a kind of electric device will be described, but the application target of the present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention can be applied to any electric device provided with a voice output device. For example, the present invention can also be applied to electric appliances such as air conditioners, water heaters, refrigerators, washing machines, lighting devices, blowers, dehumidifiers, humidifiers, heating devices, cooking devices, cleaning devices, and cleaning devices.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an air cleaner 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1, the air cleaner 1 includes a control unit 10, an air cleaning unit 11, a sensor unit 12, an operation input unit 13, a speaker 14, and the like, and purifies air in a predetermined cleaning target space.

The control unit 10 includes an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU or a dedicated processor, and a storage unit (none of which is shown) such as a RAM, a ROM, and an HDD. The control unit 10 controls the operations of the respective units of the air cleaner 1 based on (i) various information and various control programs stored in the storage unit, (ii) an instruction from the user input via the operation input unit 13, and (iii) a detection result of the sensor unit 12. The control unit 10 is provided with a voice control unit 20, and the speaker 14 and the voice control unit 20 constitute a voice output device 15.

The air cleaning unit 11 includes a deodorizing filter, a dust collecting filter, a blower, an ion follower, and the like (all not shown), and performs air cleaning of a space (cleaning target space) by controlling operations of the blower and the ion follower in accordance with instructions from the control unit 10. The sensor unit 12 is, for example, a dust sensor that detects fine particles contained in air. The sensor unit 12 transmits the detection result to the control unit 10.

The operation input unit 13 receives an instruction from a user input via a remote controller or an operation button (not shown) provided in the air cleaner 1, and transmits the instruction to the control unit 10. Examples of the instruction include an on/off instruction of a power supply, an air volume setting instruction, and an air direction setting instruction. When receiving an instruction from the user, the operation input unit 13 notifies the voice control unit 20 of a request for outputting an operation sound.

The speaker 14 outputs a voice corresponding to the voice signal supplied from the voice control unit 20. An amplifier circuit and the like, not shown, are provided between the speaker 14 and the voice control unit 20.

The voice control unit 20 controls the speaker 14 and outputs a voice from the speaker 14. The voice control unit 20 supplies a voice signal of a voice message having an appropriate content to the speaker 14 at an appropriate timing according to the operation and state of each unit in the air cleaner 1, and outputs the voice message. The storage unit of the control unit 10 stores voice data for outputting information and the like corresponding to the state of the air purifier 1 to the user by a voice message. The contents of the voice data of the voice message are, for example, "please clean the filter", and "the water tank is empty". Please supplement water ", etc.

When the operation input unit 13 notifies a request for outputting an operation sound, the voice control unit 20 supplies a voice signal of the operation sound to the speaker 14 at the timing when the notification is received, and outputs the operation sound. The storage unit of the control unit 10 stores voice data for outputting an operation tone (beep tone). The voice data of the operation sound is data such as "beep" and "beep" which is generated by a piezoelectric buzzer.

When the operation sound needs to be output while the voice signal of the voice message is being supplied to the speaker, the voice control unit 20 synthesizes the operation sound with the voice message and supplies the synthesized signal without interrupting the supply of the voice signal of the voice message. In the present embodiment, the voice control unit 20 synthesizes the operation sound after reducing the volume of the voice message. Specifically, the voice control unit 20 reduces the amplitude of the voice signal of the voice message and synthesizes the voice signal of the operation sound.

The synthesis with the volume of the voice message reduced may be performed when the maximum value or the minimum value of the volume that can be handled by the voice control unit 20 is exceeded. In this case, as a further preferable configuration, the volume of the voice message is reduced by at least the volume of the operation sound.

In other words, the synthesis of the voice message based on the amplitude of the voice signal may be performed when the amplitude exceeds the maximum value or the minimum value of the voice signal that can be handled by the voice control unit 20. In this case, as a further preferable configuration, the amplitude of the voice signal of the voice message is reduced by at least the amplitude of the voice signal of the operation sound.

Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining the synthesis of the voice signal of the voice message and the voice signal of the operation voice by the voice control unit 20. Fig. 2 (a) shows a voice signal of a voice message supplied to the speaker 14. In fig. 2 (a) to (d), the vertical axis represents the electric signal level, and the horizontal axis represents time.

At time T1, when the output request of the operation sound is notified, as shown in fig. 2 (b), the amplitude of the speech signal of the speech message in fig. 2 (a) is reduced, and the speech signal of the operation sound shown in fig. 2 (c) is synthesized based on the reduced amplitude. As a result, as shown in fig. 2 (d), a speech signal in which the operation sound is synthesized in the speech message can be obtained, and the speech signal is supplied to the speaker 14. By reducing the amplitude of the voice signal of the voice message, it is possible to suppress the generation of clipping noise.

Here, clip noise will be explained. When the speech signal of the speech message and the speech signal of the operation speech are synthesized without adjusting the amplitude (electric signal level), the amplitude of the synthesized speech signal exceeds the maximum value or the minimum value of the speech signal that the speech control unit 20 can handle, and noise is generated. The noise is clipping noise. When the voice signal in which the clipping noise is generated is supplied to the speaker 14, a voice completely different from the intended voice is output from the speaker 14.

Of course, by using the voice control unit 20 having a large range of the amplitude of the voice signal that can be handled, clipping noise is not generated even when the voice signal of the voice message and the voice signal of the operation voice are synthesized without adjusting the amplitude. However, when the range of the amplitude of the audio signal that can be handled is large, the cost of constructing the control unit 10 of the audio control unit 20 is also increased. Therefore, the voice control unit 20 is generally used to be able to cover the maximum amplitude of the voice signal of the voice message determined by the required volume with the maximum capability.

When the time T2 is reached and the output period of the operation sound ends, the amplitude of the voice message after that returns to the original state of fig. 2 (a) as shown in fig. 2 (b). Since the output period of the operation sound can be known in advance, the amplitude of the voice signal of the voice message is reduced in the same period as the output period of the operation sound.

As shown in fig. 2B, the electrical signal level B for reducing the amplitude of the speech signal of the speech message is preferably such that the amplitude of the speech signal of the operation sound is equal to or higher than the electrical signal level a (see fig. 2 c). This can more reliably suppress the generation of clipping noise.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an output process of the operation sound by the voice control unit 20. As shown in fig. 3, the voice control unit 20 repeatedly determines whether or not there is a notification of an output request of the operation sound (S1). When the request for outputting the operation sound is notified (yes in S1), the voice control unit 20 determines whether or not the voice signal of the voice message is being supplied to the speaker 14 (S2). When determining that the voice signal of the voice message is not being supplied to the speaker 14 (no in S2), the voice control unit 20 supplies the voice signal of the operation sound to the speaker 14 (S5). Thus, the speaker 14 outputs operation sounds such as "beep" and "beep".

On the other hand, when determining that the voice signal of the voice message is being supplied to the speaker 14 (yes in S2), the voice control unit 20 synthesizes the voice signal of the operation sound with the amplitude of the voice signal of the voice message reduced without interrupting the supply of the voice signal of the voice message (S3). Then, the voice control unit 20 supplies (S4) the synthesized voice signal in which the voice signal of the operation sound is synthesized to the voice signal of the voice message to the speaker 14. Thus, the speaker 14 outputs the operation sound and the voice message in a superimposed manner without interrupting the voice message, such as "please clean (+ beep) filter".

(Effect)

According to the above configuration, when the operation sound needs to be output while the voice signal of the voice message is being supplied to the speaker, the voice control unit 20 does not interrupt the supply of the voice signal of the voice message. And the voice signal of the operation sound is synthesized with the voice signal of the voice message and supplied. This makes it possible to output the operation sound at an appropriate timing without stopping the voice message even during the output of the voice message, while employing a configuration in which the operation sound is output using the same device (the voice control unit 20, the speaker 14, and the like) as the voice message. Since the voice message does not stop in the middle, when the voice message is a left message, the left message can be accurately confirmed.

In the present embodiment, the voice control unit 20 synthesizes the voice signal of the operation sound after reducing the amplitude of the voice signal of the voice message, and thus can suppress the occurrence of clipping noise.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the voice control unit 20 reduces the amplitude of the voice message to be equal to or greater than the amplitude of the voice signal of the operation sound. Thus, even if the voice control unit 20 has the capability of covering the maximum amplitude of the voice signal of the voice message with the maximum capability, it is possible to reliably suppress the generation of the clipping noise.

[ second embodiment ]

Other embodiments of the present invention will be described below. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those described in the above embodiments are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will not be repeated.

In the first embodiment, the voice control unit 20 is configured to supply a voice signal of a voice message to the speaker 14 and output the voice message. In contrast, in the present embodiment, the voice control unit 20 is configured to supply and output a voice signal of a melody, which is a synthetic sound, to the speaker 14, and to output the melody instead of the voice message. The melody is a sound data in which different sound volumes, heights, beats, and the like are stored in respective tracks obtained by synthesizing sounds of sound data of a plurality of tracks. The voice control unit 20 synthesizes an operation sound after at least one of the plurality of tracks is reduced.

Fig. 4 is a diagram for explaining the synthesis of the voice signal of the melody and the voice signal of the operation voice by the voice control unit 20. Fig. 4 (a) to (d) show signals representing images of sounds of voice data of a plurality of tracks constituting a melody, and fig. 4 (e) shows a voice signal (analog signal) of a melody supplied to the speaker 14, which is obtained by synthesizing the sounds of four tracks of fig. 4 (a) to (d). In addition, in (a) > E of FIG. 4

(h) In the figure, the vertical axis represents the electric signal level, and the horizontal axis represents time.

At time T1, when the output request of the operation sound is notified, as shown in (f) of fig. 4, the processing is performed so as to reduce the amplitude of the speech signal of the melody shown in (e) of fig. 4, and then the speech signal of the operation sound shown in (g) of fig. 4 is synthesized. As a result, as shown in fig. 4 (h), a speech signal in which the operation sound is synthesized in the melody can be obtained and supplied to the speaker 14.

In the case of a melody that is a synthesized sound, the amplitude of a speech signal is reduced by reducing the number of tracks to be synthesized. In fig. 4 (f), the tracks shown in fig. 4 (d) are reduced, and voices of voice data of the three tracks in fig. 4 (a) to (c) are synthesized.

At time T2, when the output period of the operation sound ends, the melody after that returns to the state of fig. 4 (e) in which the voices of the speech data of the four tracks are synthesized, as shown in fig. 4 (f). Since the output period of the operation sound is known in advance, the speech control unit 20 performs processing so that the speech data of the track shown in fig. 4 (d) is not included in the synthetic sound in the same period as the output period of the operation sound.

In this way, by reducing the number of tracks to be synthesized and synthesizing the speech signal of the operation sound in addition to the number of tracks, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of clipping noise as in the first embodiment. In this case, it is also preferable to select a track of a size of an electric signal level a (see fig. 4 g) capable of reducing at least the amplitude of the speech signal of the operation sound from the synthesized speech signal. This makes it possible to more reliably suppress the generation of clipping noise as described above. In a case where the magnitude of the electric signal level a of the amplitude of the speech signal of the operation sound cannot be reduced in one track, a plurality of tracks may be reduced.

In addition, when selecting a track to be reduced, the voice control unit 20 preferably includes the lowest track among the plurality of tracks in the track to be reduced. In the audible frequency range, treble sound is more easily heard by a person, and the track of treble sound is responsible for melody (a main part of melody) in many cases. Therefore, the lowest-pitched track among the plurality of tracks is included in the track to be reduced, and the uncomfortable feeling felt by the reduction of the track can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, the voice control unit 20 selects and reduces the lowest-pitched track at the timing of notifying the output request of the operation sound. The voice control unit 20 selects a track having the lowest frequency (a long cycle) of the voice signal obtained by converting the voice data among the plurality of tracks. Further, a predetermined track may be determined as a bass track.

In addition, when selecting a track to be reduced, the voice control unit 20 may be configured to include a track having the smallest sound volume among the plurality of tracks in the track to be reduced. The track with the smaller volume is less likely to be responsible for the melody (the main part of the melody). Therefore, the track to be reduced can include the track with the smallest volume among the plurality of tracks, and the unpleasant feeling felt by reducing the track can be reduced.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an output process of the operation sound by the voice control unit 20. As shown in fig. 5, the voice control unit 20 repeatedly determines whether or not there is a notification of an output request of the operation sound (S1). When the request for outputting the operation sound is notified (yes in S1), the speech controller 20 determines whether or not the speech signal of the melody is being supplied to the speaker 14 (S2'). When determining that the audio signal of the melody is not being supplied to the speaker 14 (no in S2'), the audio control unit 20 supplies the audio signal of the operation sound to the speaker 14 (S5). Thus, the speaker 14 outputs operation sounds such as "beep" and "beep".

On the other hand, when it is determined that the supply of the voice signal of the melody to the speaker 14 is in progress (yes in S2'), the voice control unit 20 determines the track to be reduced without interrupting the supply of the voice signal of the melody (S10), and synthesizes the sounds of the voice data of a plurality of tracks other than the determined track with the operation sound (S11). Then, the voice control unit 20 supplies the synthesized voice signal in which the operation sound is synthesized in the melody to the speaker 14 (S4'). Thus, the speaker 14 outputs the operation sound superimposed on the melody without interrupting the melody.

[ third embodiment ]

Other embodiments of the present invention will be described below. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those described in the above embodiments are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will not be repeated.

In the first and second embodiments, it is assumed that the amplitude (volume) of the operation sound is constant, but in the present embodiment, the amplitude of the operation sound can be switched. The amplitude (volume) of the operation sound can be switched in two steps of magnitude, for example.

The voice control unit 20 switches the width of the amplitude of the voice information of the voice message, the track to be reduced among the plurality of tracks constituting the melody, or the number of tracks to be reduced, in accordance with the set amplitude of the operation sound, at the time of synthesis. That is, when the amplitude (volume) of the operation sound is set to be large, the amplitude of the speech signal of the speech message is further greatly reduced, and the number of tracks to be reduced among the plurality of tracks constituting the melody is increased.

< modification example >

In the above description, it has been described that the voice control unit 20 is constructed in the control unit 10, the speaker 14 and the voice control unit 20 constitute the voice output device 15, and the voice control unit 20 includes a voice signal circuit for synthesizing a voice signal. However, the function of the speech synthesis circuit may be separated from the speech control unit 20, and the speech synthesis circuit may be provided separately from the control unit 10.

Further, although the synthesized sound obtained by synthesizing the sounds of the plurality of tracks is used as the melody, the synthesized sound may be a voice message of the synthesized sound, and it is not necessary that the melody is necessarily the synthesized sound.

Further, the device that outputs either the voice message or the melody is separately described, but may be configured to perform either: it is possible to output either a voice message or a melody, determine which voice control unit 20 is, whether or not to reduce the amplitude of a voice signal, and whether or not to reduce a track at a stage before the voice signal is set.

[ example of implementation by software ]

The control module (particularly, the voice control unit 20) of the air cleaner 1 may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed on an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or may be realized by software.

In the latter case, the air cleaner 1 is provided with a computer that executes commands of a program that is software for realizing the respective functions. The computer includes, for example, at least one processor (control device), and includes at least one computer-readable recording medium storing the program. In the computer, the processor reads the program from the recording medium and executes the program, thereby achieving the object of the present invention. As the processor, for example, a cpu (central processing unit) can be used. As the recording medium, in addition to a "non-transitory tangible medium", such as a rom (read only memory), a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like can be used. The program may also include a ram (random Access memory) for expanding the program. The program may be supplied to the computer via an arbitrary transmission medium (a communication network, a broadcast wave, or the like) through which the program can be transmitted. In addition, an embodiment of the present invention can be realized by a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

[ conclusion ]

A speech output device 15 according to embodiment 1 of the present invention includes: a speaker 14; and a voice control unit 20 for synthesizing the operation sound with the voice message or the melody and supplying the operation sound without interrupting the supply of the voice signal of the voice message or the melody when the operation sound needs to be output while the voice signal of the voice message or the melody is being supplied to the speaker 14.

The voice output device 15 according to aspect 2 of the present invention may be configured such that, in addition to aspect 1, the voice control unit 20 synthesizes the operation sound after reducing the volume of the voice message or melody.

In the speech output device 15 according to aspect 3 of the present invention, in addition to aspect 2, the speech control unit 20 may be configured to synthesize the speech signal of the operation sound after reducing the amplitude of the speech signal of the voice message or the melody.

In the speech output device 15 according to aspect 4 of the present invention, in addition to aspect 3, the speech control unit 20 may be configured to reduce the amplitude of the speech signal of the speech message or melody by at least the amplitude of the speech signal of the operation sound.

The speech output device 15 according to aspect 5 of the present invention may be configured such that, in addition to aspect 2, the speech message or the melody is a synthesized sound obtained by synthesizing sounds of speech data of a plurality of tracks, and the speech control unit synthesizes the operation sound after at least one of the plurality of tracks is reduced.

In the speech output device 15 according to aspect 6 of the present invention, in addition to aspect 5, the speech control unit may be configured to include a lowest-pitched track among the plurality of tracks in the track to be reduced.

In the speech output device 15 according to aspect 7 of the present invention, in addition to aspect 5, the speech control unit may be configured to include a track with the smallest volume among the plurality of tracks in the track to be reduced.

An electric device according to aspect 8 of the present invention is characterized by being provided with the speech output device 15 according to any one of aspects 1 to 7.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Further, the technical means disclosed in the respective embodiments are combined to form new technical features.

Description of the reference numerals

1: air purifier

10: control unit

11: air cleaning part

12: sensor unit

13: operation input unit

14: loudspeaker

15: voice output device

20: voice control unit