Speech-conversion processing apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A speech-conversion processing apparatus, comprising:
- a character-string structure analyzer operable to analyze a character-string structure within address data selected for speech conversion in accordance with speech-conversion rule data;
a pronunciation-symbol dictionary in which speech-conversion pronunciation symbols are associated with character strings of a specific element of the character-string structure;
a data reader operable to search the pronunciation-symbol dictionary for a character string of the specific element, the character string being obtained by dividing the address data into elements based on a result of the analysis performed by the character-string structure analyzer, and to read data associated with the speech-conversion pronunciation symbols;
a speech data creator operable to create speech data for all elements of address character strings in accordance with the data associated with the speech-conversion pronunciation symbols; and
a speech generation section operable to generate speech from the speech data created by the speech data creator.
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Abstract
An address character-string structure analyzer analyzes an address character-string structure with respect to address data selected from input data for speech conversion, in accordance with data stored in the address speech-conversion application-rule data storage section. A street speech-conversion structure data element divider divides the address data into structure elements. A street-name speech-conversion pronunciation symbol dictionary is provided. When the structure elements contain a street name, an address speech-conversion data-storage-section selector/reader searches the dictionary and reads pronunciation symbols for the street name. For another structure element, a general dictionary, an individually-created general dictionary, individually-created phonetic-symbol dictionary, or the like is searched and pronunciation symbols are read. When the processing for all elements is completed, speech data is created and reproduced in accordance with general speech data.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A speech-conversion processing apparatus, comprising:
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a character-string structure analyzer operable to analyze a character-string structure within address data selected for speech conversion in accordance with speech-conversion rule data;
a pronunciation-symbol dictionary in which speech-conversion pronunciation symbols are associated with character strings of a specific element of the character-string structure;
a data reader operable to search the pronunciation-symbol dictionary for a character string of the specific element, the character string being obtained by dividing the address data into elements based on a result of the analysis performed by the character-string structure analyzer, and to read data associated with the speech-conversion pronunciation symbols;
a speech data creator operable to create speech data for all elements of address character strings in accordance with the data associated with the speech-conversion pronunciation symbols; and
a speech generation section operable to generate speech from the speech data created by the speech data creator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A speech-conversion processing method, comprising:
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analyzing a character-string structure with respect to address data selected for speech conversion in accordance with address speech-conversion rule data;
storing, in a pronunciation-symbol dictionary, data associated with pronunciation symbols corresponding to character strings within a specific element of the character-string structure;
searching the pronunciation-symbol dictionary for a character string within the specific element, the character string being obtained by dividing the address data into structure data elements in accordance with a result of the analysis of the character-string structure;
reading data associated with pronunciation symbols;
creating speech data for all elements of the character strings in accordance with the read data associated with the pronunciation symbols; and
generating speech from the speech data created. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. A speech-conversion processing method, comprising:
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receiving address data defining an address;
identifying a first and a second similar character string associated with the address using the address data, the first and the second similar character strings being identical;
identifying a first pronunciation data set associated with a first pronunciation of the first similar character string and a second pronunciation data set associated with a second pronunciation of the second similar character string, the first and the second pronunciation data sets being different to facilitate different first and second pronunciations for the first and the second similar character strings; and
generating speech associated with the address using the first and the second pronunciation data sets identified such that the first and the second similar character strings associated with the address are aurally reproduced differently.
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Specification