JPH1051403A - Voice information distribution system and voice reproducing device used for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the time needed to store information and efficiently utilize a communication line, etc., by converting various information into digital compressed data and transmitting it, and storing the received compressed data on a recording medium and then expanding and reproducing the data. SOLUTION: Character information, voice information, etc., generated by an information generation part 10 consisting of newspaper companies 1, magazine publishing companies 2, and broadcast stations 3 are sent to an information supply part 20. Those pieces of information are converted into desired digital format and transmitted to information reproduction parts 30 in local areas through satellite broadcasting. The digital audio compressed data sent to an information reproduction part 30 are written on a recording medium as they are. The compressed digital audio data on the recording medium 7 are expanded and converted into voice data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an audio information distribution system capable of selectively and easily obtaining various information updated from time to time from media such as newspapers, magazines, televisions, radios, and the like. It relates to an audio player.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, in the so-called mass media such as newspapers, magazines, televisions and radios, "news information"
The accuracy, freshness, and convenience of readily available information content are important factors. Therefore, in order to enhance the convenience and speed in creating, transmitting, and using “news information”, various new types of processing of information such as characters, images, and voices using a so-called multimedia digital signal processing technology. Attempts are being made.

[0003] In a part related to the creation of information, a program or a paper at a broadcast station or a newspaper company is edited by a computer to improve efficiency. In the part related to the transmission of information, the conventional recording medium was fixed on a physical medium such as a paper medium.Now, information such as characters and images is converted into a digital signal and transmitted via a communication or broadcast line. Thus, it is possible to directly distribute to listeners without media. For this reason, the amount of transportation and paper resources were reduced, and significant cost savings were made possible. In addition, digitalization of broadcasting and communication has made it possible to transmit a relatively large amount of information even in a narrow radio band. In the area related to the use of information, to fix the variety of information acquisition and viewing time brought about by the flextime system and the spread of telecommuting from the past, fixed to broadcasting stations and broadcasting hours It has become possible to edit or broadcast individual program contents and viewing times according to the needs of individual viewers through two-way digital communication. Further, the received information content can be temporarily recorded on a recording medium connected to a terminal held by the viewer, and only a desired portion can be viewed using a search function of a computer. Further, by accumulating or receiving various types of information with a small portable information terminal and displaying the various types of information, it has become possible to easily browse a large amount of information.

[0004]

However, while these technological innovations have been effective in the creation or transmission of information and have increased their potential in this field, they have not been used in the field of information use. However, the innovation did not actually improve the user's convenience much.

[0005] First, the provision of a program by the above-described interactive broadcasting system advocates a user-oriented technology called "on demand", but a given performance is maintained even if the number of users increases. In order to cope with the increase in the number of accesses, it is necessary to repeat capital investment to increase the capacity of communication lines and increase the number of simultaneous connections on the host side such as newspaper companies and broadcasting stations . For this reason, users have to pay high communication costs in order to use high-quality lines in such interactive broadcasting systems, and for some companies and individuals who can bear such high communication costs. Is useful, but as a system for general audiences, the cost is too high, and it is not possible to give equal opportunity to acquire information to everyone, and as a result, there is a possibility that inequality regarding information acquisition may be increased.

Next, in order to reduce the load on the communication infrastructure and the host computer and the like of such an interactive broadcast system, information is simultaneously broadcast to portable information terminals and the like using broadcast waves. Information storage-type electronic newspapers and the like have been developed. These systems are not individual distributions as in the interactive broadcasting system, so they can reduce distribution costs and improve the portability of news information over conventional paper media in order to use portable information terminals. there were. However, since the news distribution system using such a portable information terminal is intended mainly for displaying characters and images, it cannot be used by a visually impaired person while searching for information of interest. There was a problem. In addition, even healthy people can walk while walking with the conventional system that assumed search and browsing by text and images,
Or, it is difficult to use while driving a car, and it has not sufficiently satisfied the various demands of people who want to use these times more effectively.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems,
While inheriting the idea of the information storage type information distribution system, it is possible to avoid excessive capital investment in the communication infrastructure or the information providing side host computer on the information providing side, and further reduce the time required for information storage. It is an object of the present invention to provide a voice information distribution system capable of using communication lines and the like efficiently with a great reduction. Another object of the present invention is to provide a sound reproducer that can be easily used by visually impaired persons and that can be used by healthy persons while engaging in other activities.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, in the audio information distribution system of the present invention, various kinds of information such as characters and voices are continually stored in an information creating section of a plurality of newspaper companies, magazine companies, broadcasting stations and the like. Is converted to digital audio compressed data that has been subjected to digital signal compression processing, and transmitted to an audio data receiver via an artificial satellite or a terrestrial communication facility. Through this audio data receiver, the digital audio compressed data is transmitted to the audio player. The digital audio compressed data is stored in a recording medium and is expanded and reproduced by the audio reproducer.

An audio reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is an audio information distributing system for distributing various kinds of information from time to time to a plurality of receivers in an information producing section of a plurality of newspaper companies, magazine companies, broadcasting stations and the like. A recording medium that stores digital audio compression data obtained by converting the various types of information into audio data and performing digital signal compression processing is attached thereto, expands the digital audio compression data, reproduces audio data, and outputs desired information. Are configured to be easily available.

[0010] The audio information distribution system according to the present invention is an audio information distribution system for distributing various kinds of information at every moment in a plurality of information producing units of newspaper companies, magazine companies, broadcasting stations, etc. to a plurality of regions. All or part of the various information of the unit is converted to digital audio data, an audio program creating unit that forms digital audio compressed data by digital signal compression processing, the digital audio compressed data via artificial satellites or terrestrial communication equipment An audio program broadcasting unit for performing data broadcasting, an audio data receiver for receiving digital audio compressed data from the audio program broadcasting unit, and recording the digital audio compressed data on a recording medium; Decompress data and sound Sound reproducer which converts the data reproduction, comprising a. Therefore, the audio information distribution system of the present invention can easily and equally obtain various types of information required by a user at any time without excessive capital investment, and can transmit and store information necessary for information transmission and storage. Time can be greatly reduced, and communication lines and the like can be used efficiently.

Further, in the audio information distribution system according to the present invention, the audio program creating unit receives various information from the information creating unit, and a data conversion unit converts the various information into digital audio data. A data compression unit for compressing the digital audio data, and a data programming unit for converting the compressed digital audio data into digital audio compressed data having a predetermined format. For this reason, the audio information distribution system of the present invention can greatly reduce the time required for transmitting and storing information, and can efficiently use communication lines and the like.

Further, in the audio information distribution system according to the present invention, the audio program broadcasting section receives the digital audio compressed data created by the audio program creating section, and the digital audio compressed data. A scramble processing unit for performing a scramble process, and an audio program transmitting unit for broadcasting via an artificial satellite or a terrestrial communication facility. Therefore, the audio information distribution system of the present invention can easily and equally obtain various types of information required by a user at any time without making an excessive investment in equipment, and can reduce the time required for transmitting and storing information. , And communication lines and the like can be used efficiently.

In the audio information distribution system according to the present invention, the audio data receiver includes a digital data receiving unit that receives the digital audio compressed data via an artificial satellite or a terrestrial communication facility, and a plurality of the digital audio receivers. An operation unit for selecting desired data to be recorded from the compressed data, a control unit for controlling reception of the digital audio compressed data based on a command from the operation unit, and digital data recording for recording the digital audio compressed data And a part. For this reason, the audio information distribution system of the present invention can greatly reduce the time required for transmitting and storing information, and can efficiently use communication lines and the like.

In the audio information distribution system according to the present invention, the audio data receiver includes a digital data receiving unit that receives the digital audio compressed data via an artificial satellite or a terrestrial communication facility, and a plurality of the digital audio receivers. An operation unit for selecting desired data to be recorded from the compressed data, a control unit for controlling reception of the digital audio compressed data based on a command from the operation unit, and transferring the received digital audio compressed data A digital data transfer unit. For this reason, the audio information distribution system of the present invention can greatly reduce the time required for transmitting and storing information, and can efficiently use communication lines and the like.

[0015] In the audio information distribution system according to the present invention, the audio data reading unit reads the digital audio compressed data from a digital data recording unit of the audio data receiver via a recording medium on which the digital audio compressed data is recorded. An audio data expansion unit that expands digital audio compressed data read by the audio data reading unit; an audio conversion unit that converts expanded data from the audio data expansion unit into audio data; and An operation unit for selecting desired information; and an audio data output unit for outputting the audio data as audio. For this reason, the audio information distribution system of the present invention enables a visually impaired person to easily obtain various kinds of information, and allows a user to efficiently listen to various kinds of information at a desired time by eliminating unnecessary information. it can.

Further, in the audio information distribution system according to the present invention, the digital audio compressed data has a hierarchical structure. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to instantly access various information.

An audio reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is an audio information distributing system for distributing various kinds of information to a plurality of regions at a plurality of information producing units of newspaper companies, magazine companies, broadcasting stations, and the like. The information is converted into digital audio data, an audio data reading unit for reading digital audio compression data by mounting a recording medium on which digital audio compression data subjected to digital signal compression processing is recorded, and reading by the audio data reading unit An audio data expansion unit for expanding the compressed digital audio compressed data, and an audio conversion unit for converting the data expanded by the audio data expansion unit into audio data,
An operation unit for selecting desired information from the audio signal; and an audio data output unit for outputting the audio signal as audio. For this reason, the audio reproducer of the present invention enables a visually handicapped person to easily obtain various types of information, and allows a user of the system to efficiently listen to various types of information at a desired time by eliminating unnecessary information. be able to.

Further, in the audio player according to the present invention,
The digital audio compression data has a hierarchical structure. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to instantly access various information.

Further, the audio reproducer according to the present invention reproduces the audio data in three reproduction modes: a normal manual mode, a continuous search reproduction mode, and a full-text continuous reproduction mode. For this reason, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily select various types of information.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the audio information distribution system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
First, the configuration of the audio information distribution system of the present invention will be described.

<< Structure of Audio Information Distribution System >> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing arrows of information transmission paths in the audio information distribution system of the present invention. Character information, analog audio information, and the like created by the information creating unit 10 including a plurality of newspaper companies 1, a plurality of magazine companies 2, a plurality of broadcasting stations 3, and the like are supplied to the information supply unit 20 via a public line, a computer network, or the like. Transmitted to The character information and analog audio information transmitted to the information supply unit 20 are converted into a desired digital data format described later, and transmitted to information reproduction units 30 provided in a plurality of regions via terrestrial or satellite broadcast waves. You. The transmission format of the character information from the information creating unit 10 to the information supply unit 20 can be transmitted by facsimile, but can also be transmitted as character data through a computer network. The transmission format of the analog audio information to the information supply unit 20 may be a means such as mailing a recording medium storing the information, but digital processing is performed and computer data is transmitted to a communication line such as a public line or a computer network. It can also be based on a transmission format via a line.

The information supply section 20 includes an audio program creating section 4 and an audio program broadcasting section 5. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the audio program creating unit 4 and the audio program broadcasting unit 5. Data receiving unit 41 of audio program creating unit 4
The character information received via a computer network or the like is converted into voice using an automatic voice conversion technique or the like, and then A / D-converted by a known voice digitizing circuit in a data conversion unit 42 to obtain digital audio. Converted to data. When the analog audio information is recorded on a recording medium such as a recording tape and transported to the audio program creating section 4, the data converting section 42 performs A / D conversion by the audio digitizing circuit, and converts Converted to audio data.

The digital audio data converted by the data conversion unit 42 is subjected to digital signal compression processing by a data compression unit 43. This digital signal compression processing is performed using a data compression technique described later. In the data programming section 44, the data is classified and managed according to the content of the voice, and is converted into compressed digital audio data having a predetermined format. The compressed digital audio data transmitted from the audio program creating unit 4 via a communication line such as an ISDN high-speed dedicated line is received by the audio program receiving unit 51 of the audio program broadcasting unit 5 and transferred to the scramble processing unit 52. In the scramble processing section 52, the digital audio compressed data is subjected to scramble processing so that a user can be specified. The compressed digital audio data is transmitted from the audio program transmitting unit 53 to each information reproducing unit 30 via an artificial satellite or a terrestrial communication facility.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information reproducing unit 30. As shown in FIG. 3, the information reproducing unit 30 includes an audio data receiver 6, a recording medium 7, and a portable audio reproducer 8. Audio data receiver 6
Is a television monitor 9, a remote controller 11, which is an operation unit, a digital data reception unit 61, a digital data transfer unit 62,
A digital data recording unit 63 and a control unit 64 are provided. The digital audio compressed data transmitted from the audio program broadcasting unit 5 of the information supply 20 is received by a digital data receiving unit 61, subjected to descrambling processing and the like, and sent to a digital data recording unit 63. The digital data recording unit 63 includes a recording medium 7 that can be inserted into a portable audio player 8 that is a portable terminal used.
Is attached. In the digital data recording unit 63, the received digital audio compression data is converted as digital data as it is into a recording medium, for example, MO, M
D, DVD, or I with flash memory
It is written on a C card or the like.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the information reproducing section 30 of this embodiment. In FIG. 4, the television monitor 9 functions not as a video receiver but as a so-called EPG execution screen for instructing selection of a reception program. A remote controller 11 with a projection switch is provided so that voice guidance can be played from the speaker 9a and the corresponding program can be selected without moving the cursor on the screen of the television monitor 9. The operation method of the remote controller 11 will be described later. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of another information reproducing unit 60. The information reproducing unit 60 shown in FIG. 5 does not include the digital data recording unit 63 described above,
In this configuration, data is directly written to the recording medium 7 mounted on the portable audio player 8 via a data cable such as an SI. FIG.
In the audio data receivers 6 and 60 shown in FIG. 5, the compressed digital audio data is not decompressed, and is recorded directly on the recording medium 7 while being compressed. Therefore, a large amount of audio information is stored in the recording medium 7 according to the compression ratio.
The recording time can be reduced to the maximum speed limit of the recording time.

FIG. 6 is an external view showing a remote controller 11 which is an operation unit of the audio data receiver 6. The remote controller 11 is used, for example, to automatically select the contents of a broadcast schedule program for all channels for one week.
When the power of the audio data receiver 6 is turned on, the program is first set to the program selection mode, in which a program can be received or a reception reservation can be made. The up and down arrow buttons 31 and 32 of the remote controller 11 shown in FIG. 6 are used to reserve and select the reception time of the program to be received. Left and right arrow buttons 33 and 34 are for selecting a broadcast channel. The square button is a confirmation button 35 for confirming the operation, and the round button is a cancellation mode setting button 36. When the cancel mode setting button 36 is pressed, the mode shifts from the program selection mode to the cancel mode.

In the program selection mode, every time one of the up, down, left and right arrow buttons 31, 32, 33, 34 is pressed, the channel name of the currently selected channel, the program broadcast start time, and the end time are displayed. The time is notified by voice from the speaker 9a (FIGS. 4 and 5). For example, "The data audio broadcast selected for the portable audio player is now selected.
Receive electronic newspaper program for minutes to X minutes. Please press the confirmation button if you like. "Is emitted from the speaker 9a each time the arrow button is pressed. Here, when the confirmation button 35 is pressed, the reservation operation is completed, and when the time comes, the power is automatically turned on and reception starts. At this time, the storage medium 7 inserted into the slot of the audio data receiver 6 or the external storage medium of the portable audio player 8 connected to the audio data receiver 6 via a computer data transfer cable is reserved. The collected data is accumulated.

When the cancellation mode is set, each time the up / down arrow buttons 31 and 32 are pressed, the latest reservation program name is uttered sequentially from the speaker 9a. For example, "The data audio broadcast selected for the portable audio player is now selected.
Cancels the subscription for the electronic newspaper program that has been reserved for minutes to X minutes. Please press the confirmation button if you like. Is reproduced. Unless the confirmation button is pressed, the reservation is not canceled. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the portable audio player 8. The recording medium 7 on which the digital audio compression data is recorded is mounted on the audio data reading unit 82 in the portable audio player 8. The digital audio compressed data is decompressed in the audio data decompression unit 83 and the audio conversion unit 8
In step 4, the data is converted into audio data. The audio data is output from the audio data output unit 85 via a speaker or an earphone based on a command from the control unit 81.

Since the portable audio player 8 of this embodiment uses digital data as a recording medium, random access is easy. In addition, the data program has a hierarchical structure and is provided with a selection function so that jumping to a genre of another article can be performed instantaneously. Further, the portable audio player 8 has an access function as simple as possible so that a visually impaired person or a healthy person can easily select a desired article even while walking. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the portable audio player 8. As shown in FIG. 8, a slot 12 into which the recording medium 7 is inserted is formed in the portable audio player 8, and a speaker 13 is provided on a side surface thereof. Further, the portable audio reproducer 8 is configured so that the earphone 14 is attached thereto. The portable audio player 8 is provided with a control unit 15 described later.
To select audio data to be reproduced. The audio information distribution system according to the present embodiment is configured as described above.

<< Distribution Form of Voice Information Distribution System >> The present invention provides a large-capacity two-way communication while matching voice information having a large amount of data with the content, time, and place requested by the user. In order to provide it at a lower cost than when using infrastructure, audio information is digitally compressed and broadcast in a data format. These delivery formats are:
Since various audio information must be temporarily stored on the broadcasting station and digital signal compression processing must be performed, the point of quickness compared to the normal real-time broadcasting format that allows simultaneous listening to the broadcast content during broadcasting. Is inferior. However, when the time period during which the user can obtain the information is limited (for example, during the commuting time period or after returning home), or the diversity of the information content provided by the user is more than the promptness of the information When,
The audio information distribution system of the present invention is a more desirable distribution form when it is possible to obtain a higher value with freedom to select with respect to the obtained information.

For example, for people who mainly acquire information only through voice, such as visually impaired persons, a certain predetermined time (a time for reading a sentence) is inevitably required to ingest the information. I do. However, in the above-mentioned real-time broadcasting, it is not possible to perform "skip-out" or "find-out" for efficient use of time, which is performed unconsciously when a healthy person reads a newspaper through a text medium. Becomes As a result, there has been a problem that the information is tied to the broadcasting time zone and information cannot be efficiently obtained.

On the other hand, in the information distribution system according to the present invention, the audio is distributed by the digital signal compression processing in a fraction of a time to a tenth of the time actually required for listening, After storing it on the user terminal, use the computer search function described later to freely "skip"
And "displacement". For this reason, according to the present invention, there is an advantage that the degree of freedom regarding the user's information selection is increased as a result. The audio program creation unit 4 shown in FIG. 2 compresses the audio information digitized by the data conversion unit 42 using a known audio compression technique, and then distributes the audio information as computer data instead of audio.

A description will be given below of a distribution time when data of a reading of an ordinary newspaper article is distributed as compressed audio data. One newspaper in the morning, about 30
Articles of 000 characters are described. It is said that the number of characters in a sentence that can be heard by the general public with enough time in 30 minutes is 10,000 characters, and when all of this information is delivered by voice using the real-time delivery method, it takes about 15 hours to deliver. It takes time and listening time.
On the other hand, when such audio information is treated as digital computer data and data is distributed, the distribution time can be theoretically reduced by changing the sampling frequency, the number of quantization bits, and the compression efficiency. For example, 44.1 kHz sampling 16
Taking bit stereo sound as an example, 441,00
0 Hz x 16 bits x 2 (stereo) = 1,323,000
The transmission time is about 15 hours if a broadcast wave having a capacity of about 1.3 Mbps is used. However, even if a broadcast wave having the same capacity is used, a known MPEG2 or
If an audio compression technique such as ATRAC is used, the data amount can be reduced to about one-fifth. Therefore, if audio is not heard in real time, the distribution time can be reduced to about 1/5 by using audio compressed data as described above. Further, by processing such as lowering the sampling rate to 44.1 kHz or lowering the number of quantization bits, it is possible to distribute practically usable audio in a distribution time of a fraction of the time. After the data is once stored, the "listening" operation is freely performed, thereby greatly improving the degree of freedom regarding the acquisition of audio information.

In order to transmit the above-mentioned digital audio compressed data from the audio program broadcasting unit 5 to each information reproducing unit 30, an infrastructure capable of simultaneously transmitting a large amount of data to a large number of users at low cost is used. The transmission is performed by a digital broadcast network using a transmission medium, for example, a terrestrial wave, a satellite broadcast wave, an optical communication CATV network, or the like. In particular, the satellite broadcast wave is excellent in terms of the coverage rate of the distribution area and the size of the distribution capacity, and is the most suitable infrastructure for the audio information distribution system according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the billing system is configured to scramble the broadcast wave and give the descrambling key only to the payee of the reception fee so that the broadcast can be received. Like a bureau, advertising revenue may cover the operating costs of the system. The charging operation is performed by the audio program broadcasting unit 5 described above. The use of these large-capacity infrastructures is not limited to the audio information distribution system, but can be used simultaneously with other communication and broadcasting services. For this reason,
Sharing a billing system with a broadcaster or the like that provides other services makes it possible to reduce the cost that must be paid for the operation of the audio information distribution system according to the present invention. As described above, when distributing news information, new product information, and the like, which are desirable for the listener to select and listen to from a huge amount of information, as audio information, digital audio compression technology is used. Broadcasting and receiving signals and other data as compressed signals are more inexpensive and provide wider audio information than multi-channel real-time broadcasting and on-demand audio distribution using a large-capacity two-way communication infrastructure. Can be provided to the listener.

<< Data Structure in Audio Information Distribution System >> As described above, according to the present invention, digital audio compression is performed so that a listener can more efficiently listen to compressed audio data transmitted and received at once to reduce distribution costs. It is an object to provide a structure that allows not only continuous listening of data but also selective listening at any time. The digital audio compression data in the audio information distribution system of the present invention has a data structure that allows easy and efficient listening of desired audio data without using characters or images with excellent browsability. Furthermore, taking the example of listening to newspaper articles on general paper, which is the main use of the audio information distribution system of the present invention, rather than searching for related articles in a chain, new articles in various areas and fields can be used. A quick overview of information is a priority, and an information providing structure that obtains more detailed information on what is needed is more desirable.

In order to meet such a purpose, the data structure in the audio information distribution system of the present invention has the following structural features. First, all audio data is composed of a pair of a head audio file and a text audio file (hereinafter, referred to as a “core unit”). With this configuration, the user can know the outline of the text audio file before listening to the text audio file of each core unit, and determine whether to listen to or not listen to the text audio file. In this case, for example, the found audio file has an odd index, and the corresponding body audio file is set to have an even index obtained by adding 1 to the odd number of the found audio file number. By providing such a regularity, it is not necessary to provide identifiers for the found audio file and the text audio file in the management file. All the core units are divided into several multi-layered groups so that individual information can be easily accessed while grasping the outline of the entire information by various operations by a portable audio player described later.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a part of a data structure having a multilayer structure used in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the present embodiment is for the case of audio data of a newspaper article, and its data configuration is composed of a media layer A, a genre layer B,
It has a four-layer structure of a topic layer C and a detail layer D. In this embodiment, the head unit's head file in the media layer A contains audio data such as "Y / Y / Y / X newspaper". The text audio file contains, for example, audio data of a main article in a newspaper article of the day. The genre layer B stores audio data of each genre such as “general”, “economy”, “politics”, and “society”. The first of the core units constituting each genre is called a genre head core unit, and generally describes the genre in the form of audio data. For example, in the heading audio file of the genre head core unit, audio data such as “○ / ○ / 日 / 新聞 is a newspaper comprehensive section” is recorded as a genre name. In addition, a simple commentary on the genre, such as “Today's ○”
X The main news in the newspaper comprehensive section is ... audio data.

Further, in the topic layer C, a core unit subordinate to each genre is formed, and detailed information of the genre is recorded in the core unit of the topic layer. Genre data is composed of a core unit of the genre and a core unit of a topic layer subordinate to the genre. Further, the above topic layer C
A core unit having more detailed information related to the core unit is formed in a layer below the topic layer C. These core units of the topic layer C are referred to as detail core units. The core unit of the topic layer C having such a detail core unit is distinguished from a normal core unit (hereinafter, referred to as a standard core unit), and is referred to as a topic head core unit. A combination of the topic head core unit and the detail core unit related to the topic is called topic data. Also, the core units of each layer derived from one media head core unit are collectively referred to as media data. At the end of the audio file, for example, "Related information" is added to indicate that there is a detail core unit with detailed information recorded in the lower layer in the heading audio file of the topic head core unit or its body audio file. There is a voice data recorded.

FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing the correlation between the core units. The core unit belonging to the media layer A becomes a head unit of each core unit of the genre layer B below it. Similarly, a core unit belonging to the genre layer B becomes a head unit of each core unit of the topic layer C below it. The data structure in the information distribution system according to the present embodiment has a four-layer structure as shown in FIG. 9, but as another embodiment, it is possible to have a deeper hierarchy than this. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a description format of audio data having a hierarchical structure according to the present embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 10, one audio file having one index number is stored for each record. The odd index number stores the article head of the head sound file, and the even index number stores the article body of the body sound file. Further, the first four bits of the odd-numbered record are provided with a hierarchical position indicating bit indicating the position of the core unit paired with the next even-numbered record in the overall hierarchical structure. Since the data structure of this embodiment has a four-layer structure, as shown in FIG.
Each record has a 4-bit management bit area. Each bit is a bit as to whether or not the first one bit is a media head core unit. The second bit is a bit indicating whether or not it is a core unit of the genre layer B. The third bit is a bit indicating whether or not the unit is a standard (topic) core unit. The fourth bit is a bit indicating whether or not the unit is a detail core unit. If a hierarchical structure deeper than the four-layer structure is required, more management bit areas may be secured as needed.

<< Operation of Portable Audio Reproducer >> FIG. 11 is a front view showing the control unit 15 of the portable audio reproducer 8. As shown in FIG. 11, the control unit 15 is provided with a plurality of push buttons and a display 27. The display 27 displays information on the audio data, such as the name of a newspaper company, while the audio data is being reproduced. The multiple push buttons are play button 2
1, Next button 22, Forward jump button 2
3, a pause button 24, a back button 25, and a backward jump button 26. Detailed operations regarding these push buttons will be described later.

The portable audio player 8 according to the present invention mainly reproduces audio data composed of an article head and an article body, such as newspapers and magazines. Differently, it basically has the following three types of reproduction modes. 1. Normal manual mode In the normal manual mode, the next button 22
Each time is pressed, the next article is played back, and when that playback is completed, the playback is temporarily suspended until the next button operation is performed and playback is not performed. If the user is interested in finding the article, the content of the article body is played by pressing the play button 21 during or after the article is played. When the playback of the article body is completed, the next article is played, and then temporarily paused again. 2. Finding continuous playback mode In the finding continuous playback mode, of the digital audio compression data, which is the above-described audio data, only the article index with an odd index is continuously played back. When an article found by the user is reproduced, the user presses the play button 21 to reproduce the contents of the article text of the article found. When the reproduction of the article body is completed, the mode returns to the heading continuous reproduction mode, and only the article headings are sequentially reproduced again. 3. Full-text continuous playback mode In the full-text continuous playback mode, all recorded contents, that is, article search and article text, are sequentially played back in the same manner as a normal music playback device.

Next, the function of each push button of the control unit 15 shown in FIG. 11 will be described. The play button 21 reproduces the article text of the article retrieved lastly in the normal manual mode and the continuous search reproduction mode. When the play button 21 is pressed, the mode is switched from the current mode to the full-text continuous reproduction mode. The next button 22 terminates the current reproduction or standby state and reproduces the next article found in any mode. After the end of the reproduction, the operation according to the mode at that time is performed. When the next button 22 is pressed, the mode is switched from the current mode to the continuous playback mode. Forward jump button 23
When the forward jump button 23 is pressed, the current genre or group is skipped, and the headcore unit of the next genre or group is reproduced. The compressed audio data reproduced by the portable audio reproducer 8 has a hierarchical structure of two or more layers, and the currently reproduced hierarchical structure has a hierarchical structure level one level lower. In this case, pressing the forward jump button moves from the current position to the next lower hierarchical structure. Details of the operation in this hierarchical structure will be described later.

The backward jump button 26 reproduces the article search of the head core unit in the layer to which the currently reproduced core unit belongs. If the audio data reproduced by the portable audio reproducer 8 has a hierarchical structure of three or more layers, and the currently reproduced hierarchical structure has a hierarchical structure level two steps higher,
By pushing the backward jump button,
Move from the current position to the hierarchical structure two levels higher. Details of the operation in this hierarchical structure will be described later. The back button 25 is the reverse of the function of the above-described next button 22. In any mode, the back button 25 ends the current reproduction or the standby state, and reproduces the immediately preceding article found. After the end of the reproduction, the operation according to the mode at that time is performed. When the back button 25 is pressed, the mode is switched from the current mode to the normal manual mode. When the pause button 24 is pressed during reproduction of the article text and the article head, the reproduction thereof is temporarily stopped. When the pause button 24 is further pressed, the reproduction state ends.

FIGS. 12 to 15 show file read pointers (hereinafter, referred to as FRP) for reading out each audio data in the compressed audio data having the four-layer structure.
However, the arrow indicates how the FPP is moved from the current core unit to which core unit in which hierarchy by each button operation described above. For example, in FIG. 12, when the FRP is located at the position of the body audio file on the topic layer C, the FRP moves in the direction of the next core unit by pressing the next button 21,
Play the article headings for that core unit. If there is no corresponding core unit at the designated position in any of the hierarchies, a message “There is no corresponding audio information” is generated.

<< Processing Flow of Portable Audio Player >> FIG.
Is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the portable audio player 8 of the present embodiment. Power on, MO, PD, M
When a recording medium 7 on which digital audio compression data such as D, DVD, or IC card is recorded is inserted into the portable audio player 8, a file read pointer (FRP) for reading audio data has an index number 1 Is located at the beginning of the heading audio file. At this time, the found article, such as "○ / ○ / day / newspaper", is reproduced, and the state is initialized (step 100).
After this initial state, various operations are performed by operating the push buttons of the portable audio player 8. Each push button operation is roughly classified into two types: (1) "mode change operation" for changing the current mode, and (2) "skip operation" for changing the index number currently being read. Is done. In addition, a "skip operation" may be inevitably attached when setting the mode. The internal processing flow when each button operation is performed will be described later, but the portable audio reproducer 8 of the present embodiment allows the user to perform a desired operation even during the reproduction of the article body or the article search. As always, whenever possible, the CPU reproduces the minimum unit block of the audio data described in each record.
It is programmed to always check for remote control operation. In this way, even if audio data is being reproduced, if the button operation is confirmed, the current mode, index number, or FRP position can be changed to immediately reproduce the audio data specified by the button operation. It becomes possible. When the reproduction of the record is completed, the current index number is reset according to each mode, and if necessary, the next record is reproduced. At this time, by pressing the play button, if the full-text continuous playback mode has been set in a pseudo manner while in the normal manual mode or the continuous search mode, the mode is returned to the original mode.

Hereinafter, the internal processing operation associated with the push button operation will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 17 is an internal processing flow according to the operation of the play button 21. The play button 21 does not have a skip function, and when it is normally pressed, even if the current mode is the normal manual mode or the find continuous play mode, the play button 21 is changed to the full-text continuous play mode in a pseudo manner ( Automatically play the article text after playing the currently read article.
Further, as described in the flow of FIG. 16 described above, the pseudo full-text continuous reproduction mode is automatically ended when the reproduction of the article body ends, and returns to the original mode. Next, when the play button 21 is depressed, the mode shifts to the full-text continuous reproduction mode while the current reproduction is continued. Therefore, if the play button 21 is strongly pressed while the article search is being played in the search continuous play mode or the normal manual mode, a voice saying “the mode has shifted to the full-text continuous play mode” is inserted. FIG.
Is an internal processing flow associated with the operation of the pause button 24. When the pause button 24 is pressed during voice reproduction, the FRP waits at that point, pauses reproduction, and enters a pause state. This pause state is released by pressing the pause button again or operating another button.
By pressing the pause button 24 strongly, the entire program ends.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the next button operation by the next button 22. The next button 22 and the back button 25 to be described later are not the fast-forward function of the existing audio player, but are the index numbers of the nearest articles found before and after from the current FRP position (in this embodiment, the odd index numbers). ) Is a push button for reproducing audio data having ()). When the next button 22 is pressed, the article search of the next core unit located at the same level and closest to the FRP position at that time is reproduced. Further, when the next button 22 is pressed, the continuous playback mode is set, and only the article is played back sequentially even if the user releases his / her hand. FIG.
9 is a flowchart showing a back button operation by the back button 25. By pressing the back button 25, the article found of the previous core unit located at the same level and closest to the FRP position at that time is reproduced. When the back button 25 is pressed, the mode is set to the normal manual mode. During the text reproduction, the reproduction is interrupted, and after the next article is reproduced, the apparatus enters a standby state. Also, during article retrieval and reproduction, the apparatus enters a standby state after the reproduction is completed.

FIG. 21 shows a forward jump button 23.
6 is a flowchart showing a forward jump button operation according to FIG. When the forward jump button 23 is pressed, the head index number of the group next to the group to which the current group belongs is searched for by referring to the hierarchical position description bits in the above-mentioned records, and the record of the searched index number is found. Move the FRP to the audio file. When the forward jump button 23 is depressed, it moves to the group head index of the hierarchy one level lower than the current hierarchy level. FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the backward jump button operation by the backward jump button 26. When the backward jump button 26 is pressed, the head index number of the group preceding the group to which the current group belongs is searched by referring to the hierarchical position description bits in the above-mentioned records, and the record of the searched index number is searched. However, the FRP is moved to the audio file. Further, when the backward jump button 26 is pressed at the position of the head core unit of this group, the FRP is further moved to the found audio file of the head core unit of the previous group. Therefore, by successively pressing the backward jump button 26, it is possible to sequentially go back to the previous group. If the backward jump button 26 is pressed, the head jumps to the head core unit of the group in the hierarchy one level higher than the current hierarchy level.

If the reproduced article text of the even-numbered index is the final article text, the program is terminated or the program returns to the initial state, and the first article found is reproduced again. . When the reproduction of the final article body is completed, the audio data "This is the end of all articles. Return to the main article" is reproduced. Control unit 1 of portable audio reproducer 8 of this embodiment
The number of push buttons in 5 is limited, and the shapes are different from each other, so if you learn the operation once, you can find out what genre article is currently being reproduced without visual confirmation. Can be judged by touch and hearing, and can easily jump to another genre when desired.

In the audio information distribution system of the above embodiment, a system has been described in which a news manuscript or the like sent from a newspaper company, a magazine company, a broadcasting station, or the like is vocalized and distributed. New music CD
The audio information distribution system of the present invention can also be used in a system that, after performing data compression processing on music introduction information such as an excerpt voice or the like, constructs a randomly accessible data program and distributes the data. Further, in the audio information distribution system of the above embodiment, the audio data is reproduced by the portable audio reproducer, but the present invention is not limited to such a portable audio reproducer, and the stationary audio reproducer It is also possible to use a device to reproduce and listen to audio data at each home.

[0051]

According to the audio information distribution system and the audio reproducer according to the present invention, since the information provider can store the information in a short time without making an excessive capital investment, the information provider can reduce the amount of information. Various information can be provided to the user with an information distribution cost and a short distribution time, and the user can easily obtain the various information, and can efficiently use the transmission medium such as the communication line. Furthermore, according to the present invention, since various types of information are configured to be obtained in the form of voice, a visually impaired person or a healthy person can easily obtain various types of desired information while walking or engaging in other activities. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an information transmission path of a voice information distribution system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an audio program creating unit and an audio program broadcasting unit in the audio information distribution system of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information reproducing unit in the audio information distribution system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of an information reproducing unit in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another configuration of the information reproducing unit in the audio information distribution system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a remote controller in the information reproducing unit of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a portable audio player in the audio information distribution system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the portable audio player of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a structural diagram showing a hierarchical structure of digital audio compression data in the audio information distribution system of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram showing an audio data program file used in the audio information distribution system of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a front view showing a control unit of the portable audio player in FIG. 8;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing movement of an FRP by a push button operation in a hierarchical structure of digital audio compressed data in the audio information distribution system of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the movement of the FRP by the push button operation in the hierarchical structure of the compressed digital audio data in the audio information distribution system of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing movement of an FRP by a push button operation in a hierarchical structure of digital audio compressed data in the audio information distribution system of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing movement of an FRP by a push button operation in a hierarchical structure of digital audio compressed data in the audio information distribution system of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the portable audio player of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a play button operation of the portable audio player in FIG. 11;

18 is a flowchart showing a pause button operation of the portable audio player in FIG.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a next button operation of the portable audio player in FIG. 11;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a back button operation of the portable audio player in FIG. 11;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a forward jump button operation of the portable audio player in FIG. 11;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a backward jump button operation of the portable audio player in FIG. 11;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 4 audio program creation unit 5 audio program broadcasting unit 6 audio data receiver 7 recording medium 8 portable audio player 10 information creation unit 20 information supply unit 30 information playback unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Agency reference number FI Technical display location H04H 1/02 H04H 1 / 02F // G06F 13/00 351 G06F 13/00 351E H04M 3/42 H04M 3/42 J

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An audio information distribution system for distributing various kinds of information from time to time in a plurality of information producing units such as newspaper companies, magazine companies, and broadcasting stations to a plurality of regions. An audio program creating unit that converts the unit into digital audio data and forms digital audio compressed data by digital signal compression processing; an audio program broadcasting unit that data broadcasts the digital audio compressed data via artificial satellites or terrestrial communication equipment; An audio data receiver that receives digital audio compressed data from the audio program broadcasting unit and records the digital audio compressed data on a recording medium; and expands the digital audio compressed data input via the recording medium to produce audio. Sound converted to data and played Audio information delivery system characterized by comprising a player. 2. The audio program creating section receives a variety of information from the information creating section, a data receiving section, a data converting section that converts the various information into digital audio data, and compresses the digital audio data. 2. The audio information distribution system according to claim 1, further comprising: a data compression section for processing; and a data programming section for converting the compressed digital audio data into digital audio compressed data having a predetermined format. . 3. An audio program receiving section, wherein the audio program broadcasting section receives the digital audio compressed data created by the audio program creating section, a scramble processing section for performing a scrambling process on the digital audio compressed data, The audio information distribution system according to claim 1, further comprising: an audio program transmission unit that broadcasts through an artificial satellite or a terrestrial communication facility. 4. An audio data receiver, comprising: a digital data receiving unit that receives the digital audio compressed data via an artificial satellite or a terrestrial communication facility; and a desired data to be recorded from a plurality of the digital audio compressed data. And a control unit that controls the reception of the digital audio compressed data based on a command from the operation unit; and a digital data recording unit that records the digital audio compressed data. The audio information distribution system according to claim 1. 5. A digital data receiving unit for receiving the digital audio compressed data via an artificial satellite or a terrestrial communication facility, the audio data receiver selecting desired data to be recorded from a plurality of the digital audio compressed data. An operation unit for controlling the reception of the digital audio compressed data based on a command from the operation unit, and a digital data transfer unit for transferring the received digital audio compressed data. The audio information distribution system according to claim 1, wherein: 6. An audio data reading section, wherein the audio reproducing apparatus mounts and reads a recording medium on which the digital audio compression data is recorded, via the audio data receiver, and reads the audio data by the audio data reading section. An audio data decompression unit that decompresses digital audio compression data; a voice conversion unit that converts data decompressed from the audio data decompression unit into voice data; an operation unit that selects desired information from the voice data; The audio information distribution system according to claim 1, further comprising: an audio data output unit that outputs the audio data as audio. 7. The audio information distribution system according to claim 1, wherein said compressed digital audio data has a hierarchical structure. 8. An audio information distribution system for distributing various kinds of information at a time in an information creating unit of a plurality of newspaper companies, magazine companies, broadcasting stations, etc., to a plurality of regions. An audio data reading unit that converts the data into data and reads digital audio compressed data through a recording medium that records digital audio compressed data that has been subjected to digital signal compression processing.The digital audio compressed data read by the audio data reading unit. An audio data expansion unit for expanding, an audio conversion unit for converting data expanded by the audio data expansion unit into audio data, an operation unit for selecting desired information from the audio data, and outputting the audio data as audio And an audio data output unit. Audio player. 9. The audio player according to claim 8, wherein the digital audio compression data has a hierarchical structure. 10. The audio reproducer according to claim 8, wherein said audio data is reproduced in three reproduction modes: a normal manual mode, a continuous search reproduction mode, and a full-text continuous reproduction mode.