INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD

• US 20070150290A1
• Filed: 12/15/2006
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Kuboyama, Hideo
• Granted Patent: US 7,813,930 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/027 Concept to speech synthesisers; Generation of natural phrases from machine-based concepts generation of parameters for speech synthesis out of text G10L13/08

Abstract

Information including a first item and a second item is obtained and the first item of the obtained information is compared with registered words. A determination is made as to whether or not text information of the second item is to be subjected to speech synthesis. If the second item is determined not to be subjected to the speech synthesis, an item other than the second item is synthesized into speech, whereas if the second item is determined to be subjected to the speech synthesis, at least the second item is synthesized into speech.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

obtaining means for obtaining information including a first item and a second item;

determining means for determining whether the second item is to be subjected to speech synthesis by comparing the first item of the information obtained by the obtaining means with a registered word; and

speech-synthesizing means for synthesizing an item other than the second item into speech when the determining means determines that the second item is not to be subjected to the speech synthesis, and for synthesizing at least the second item into speech when the determining means determines that the second item is to be subjected to the speech synthesis.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the determining means determines that the second item is to be subjected to the speech synthesis, the speech-synthesizing means synthesizes the first item and the second item into speech in combination.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the determining means determines that the second item is not to be subjected to the speech synthesis, the speech-synthesizing means synthesizes the first item into speech.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when a rate of the registered word in the first item is not less than a prescribed threshold, the determining means determines that the second item is to be subjected to the speech synthesis.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is broadcast program information.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first item is a title of a program and the second item is a subtitle of the program.

7. An information processing method comprising:

obtaining information including a first item and a second item;

determining whether the second item is to be subjected to speech synthesis by comparing the first item of the obtained information with a registered word; and

synthesizing an item other than the second item into speech when it is determined that the second item is not to be subjected to the speech synthesis, and synthesizing at least the second item into speech when it is determined that the second item is to be subjected to the speech synthesis.

8. A control program allowing a computer to execute the information processing method according to claim 7.

9. An information processing apparatus comprising:

an obtaining unit configured to obtain information including a first item and a second item;

a determining unit configured to determine whether the second item is to be subjected to speech synthesis by comparing the first item of the information obtained by the obtaining unit with a registered word; and

a speech-synthesizing unit configured to synthesize an item other than the second item into speech when the determining unit determines that the second item is not to be subjected to the speech synthesis, and for synthesizing at least the second item into speech when the determining unit determines that the second item is to be subjected to the speech synthesis.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein when the determining unit determines that the second item is to be subjected to the speech synthesis, the speech-synthesizing unit synthesizes the first item and the second item into speech in combination.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein when the determining unit determines that the second item is not to be subjected to the speech synthesis, the speech-synthesizing unit synthesizes the first item into speech.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein when a rate of the registered word in the first item is not less than a prescribed threshold, the determining unit determines that the second item is to be subjected to the speech synthesis.

13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the information is broadcast program information.

14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the first item is a title of a program and the second item is a subtitle of the program.