SPEECH SYNTHESIS DEVICE, SPEECH SYNTHESIS METHOD, AND SPEECH SYNTHESIS PROGRAM

• US 20100305949A1
• Filed: 11/25/2008
• Published: 12/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Kato, Masanori, Kondo, Reishi, Mitsui, Yasuyuki
• Application Number:
  US12/744,807
• Publication Number:
  US 20100305949A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/266
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/04 Details of speech synthesis systems, e.g. synthesiser structure or memory management
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/06 Elementary speech units used in speech synthesisers; Concatenation rules

Abstract

It is possible to provide a speech synthesis device, speech synthesis method, and speech synthesis program which can improve a speech quality and reduce a calculation amount with a preferable balance between them. The speech synthesis device includes: a sub-score calculation unit (60/65) which calculates a segment selection sub-score for selecting an optimal segment; and a candidate narrowing unit (70/73) for narrowing the candidates according to the number of the candidate segments and the segment selection sub score. The speech synthesis device performs candidate narrowing by the sub score calculation unit (60/65) and the candidate narrowing unit (70/73) in the candidate selection process when generating a synthesized speech from an input text.

Claims

1-21. -21. (canceled)

22. A speech synthesis device comprising:

a sub-score calculation unit that calculates a segment selection sub-score for selecting an optimal segment;

a threshold value calculation unit that derives a threshold value according to the number of said candidate segments; and

a candidate narrowing unit that narrows down candidates according to said threshold value and said segment selection sub-score.

23. The speech synthesis device as defined in claim 22, wherein said segment selection sub-score includes either a unit sub-score or a concatenation sub-score.

24. The speech synthesis device as defined in claim 22, wherein said threshold value calculation unit derives a higher threshold value when the number of said candidate segments is high than a case where the number of said candidate segments is low.

25. The speech synthesis device as defined in claim 22, wherein said threshold value calculation unit derives a threshold value using a segment selection sub-score.

26. The speech synthesis device as defined in claim 22, wherein said threshold value calculation unit derives a threshold value according to statistics of the segment selection sub-score of an optimal segment.

27. The speech synthesis device as defined in claim 22, comprising:

a weighting function selection unit that selects a weighting function according to the number of candidate segments, and a weighting unit that weights said segment selection score according to said weighting function and said segment selection score, said weighting function selection unit and said weighting unit being disposed preceding to said candidate narrowing unit;

wherein

said candidate narrowing unit narrows down candidates according to said weighted segment selection score.

28. A speech synthesis method, in a speech synthesis device that generates synthesized speech from an input text, comprising:

calculating a segment selection sub-score for selecting an optimal segment; and

narrowing down candidates according to a threshold value, derived according to the number of said candidate segments, and said segment selection sub-score in a process of selecting an optimal segment.

29. The speech synthesis method as defined in claim 28, wherein said segment selection sub-score includes either a unit sub-score or a concatenation sub-score.

30. The speech synthesis method as defined in claim 28, wherein a higher threshold value is applied when the number of said candidate segments is high than a case where the number of said candidate segments is low.

31. The speech synthesis method as defined in claim 28, wherein said threshold value is derived using a segment selection sub-score.

32. The speech synthesis method as defined in claim 28, wherein said threshold value calculation unit derives a threshold value according to statistics of the segment selection sub-score of an optimal segment.

33. The speech synthesis method as defined in claim 28, wherein selecting a weighting function according to the number of candidate segments and weighting said segment selection score according to said weighting function and said segment selection score are performed preceding to said narrowing down candidates;

and

narrowing down candidates according to said weighted segment selection score is performed.

34. A program having a computer, constituting a speech synthesis device that generates synthesized speech from an input text, execute:

in a process of selecting an optimal segment for generating synthesized speech from an input text,

processing of calculating a segment selection sub-score for selecting an optimal segment;

processing of deriving a threshold value according to the number of said candidate segments; and

candidate narrowing processing of narrowing down candidates according to said threshold value and an said segment selection sub-score.

35. The program as defined in claim 34, wherein said segment selection sub-score includes either a unit sub-score or a concatenation sub-score.

36. The program as defined in claim 34, wherein said threshold value calculation processing derives a higher threshold value when the number of said candidate segments is high than a case where the number of said candidate segments is low.

37. The program as defined in claim 34, wherein said threshold value calculation processing derives a threshold value using a segment selection sub-score.

38. The program as defined in claim 34, wherein said threshold value calculation processing derives a threshold value according to statistics of the segment selection sub-score of an optimal segment.

39. The program as defined in claim 34, having said computer execute:

weighting function selection processing of selecting a weighting function according to the number of candidate segments, and weighting processing of weighting said segment selection score according to said weighting function and said segment selection score, preceding to said candidate narrowing processing;

wherein

said candidate narrowing processing narrows down candidates according to said weighted segment selection score.