Device for generating the audio information of a set of characters

• US 4,783,810 A
• Filed: 04/06/1987
• Issued: 11/08/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/1982
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Kroon, Johannes N.
• Primary Examiner(s): KEMENY, EMANUEL
• Application Number:
  US07/035,103
• Time in Patent Office: 582 Days
• Field of Search: 381/51-53, 364/513.5
• US Class Current: 704/260
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems

Abstract

A device for generating the audio information of a set of characters in which some characters are intoned or pronounced with a different voice character. The device comprises means for making a distinction between a capital letter and a small letter presented. For a capital letter character, a speech pattern is formed in which the pitch or the voice character is modified, while maintaining their identity, with respect to a speech pattern for a small letter of the same character. The device also comprises means for determining the position of a letter, preferably the last letter, of a word composed of characters presented and for forming a speech pattern for the relevant letter in which the pitch and/or the voice character is modified while the identity is maintained.

Claims

1. A device for generating the audio information of a set of characters which includes a first sub-set of lower case letters and a second sub-set of upper case capital letters, said device comprising, a data-processor unit connected to a first memory for the storage of speech data and to a second memory for the storage of external input characters presented thereto, said data-processor unit comprising control means for forming, on the basis of said speech data in the first memory, a speech pattern corresponding to said input characters presented, a speech generator connected to the first memory and controlled by the data processor control means, said data processor unit further comprising character recognition means for recognizing from the input characters presented those characters which belong to said second sub-set and for introducing a modification in the speech pattern for the characters belonging to the second sub-set, wherein the modification comprises a modification of a pitch component and/or a voice-characterizing component of the speech pattern while maintaining the identity of the second sub-set of letters.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data-processor unit further comprises position determining means for determining the position of at least one letter of a word consisting made up of characters presented and for introducing a second modification in the speech pattern for said letter while maintaining the its identity, said second modification comprising a modification of a pitch component and/or a voice-characterizing component of the speech pattern.

4. A device as claimed in claims 1 or 2, wherein said modification of a pitch component of the speech pattern produces a higher pitch with respect to a mean pitch component for the characters of the first sub-set.

5. A device as claimed in claims 1 or 3, wherein the first modification of a pitch component of the speech pattern comprises a pitch rise within the duration of said speech pattern with respect to a mean pitch component for the characters of the first sub-set.

6. A device as claimed in claims 1 or 3, wherein the first modification of the voice-characterizing component of the speech pattern comprises a shift of the formants with respect to the formant representation for the characters of the first sub-set.

9. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said second modification of a pitch component of the speech pattern comprises a pitch decrease within the duration of the speech pattern with respect to a mean pitch component of the speech pattern.

10. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said second modification of a pitch component of the speech pattern comprises a lower pitch with respect to a mean pitch component of the speech pattern.

11. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said second modification of the voice-characterizing component of the speech pattern comprises a shift of the formants with respect to the representation of formants of the speech pattern.

12. A device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the modification of the pitch component is within a range of from 1/4 to 1.5 octaves.

13. A typewriter comprising a keyboard having an output connected to a device as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3.

14. A device as claimed in claim 5 wherein the modification of the pitch component is within a range of from 1/4 to 1.5 octaves.

15. A device as claimed in claim 9 wherein the modification of the pitch component is within a range of from 1/4 to 1.5 octaves.

2. A device for generating the audio information of a set of characters comprising, a data-processor unit connected to a first memory for the storage of speech data and to a second memory for the storage of external input characters presented thereto, said data-processor unit comprising control means for forming, on the basis of said speech data in the first memory, a speech pattern corresponding to said input characters presented, a speech generator connected to the first memory and controlled by the data processor control means, wherein the data-processor unit comprises position determining means for determining the position of at least one letter of a word made up of characters presented and for introducing a modification in the speech pattern for said letter while maintaining its identity, said modification comprising a modification of a pitch component and/or a voice-characterizing component of the speech pattern.

7. A device as claimed in claims 2 or 3, wherein said one letter is the last letter of a word composed of characters presented.

8. A device as claimed in claims 2 or 3 wherein said position determining means are actuable by a presented space character and/or a punctuation mark character associated with a part of a sentence.

16. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said modification of a pitch component of the speech pattern comprises a lower pitch with respect to a mean pitch component of the speech pattern.

17. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said modification of the voice-characterizing component of the speech pattern comprises a shift of the formants with respect to the representation of formants of the speech pattern.