Intelligent work station

• US 4,907,274 A
• Filed: 03/11/1988
• Issued: 03/06/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kashia Toshiba
• Inventors: Mori, Kazuhiro, Nomura, Norimasa
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown, Thomas W.
• Application Number:
  US07/167,256
• Time in Patent Office: 725 Days
• Field of Search: 364/513.5, 379/88, 379/100, 380/30, 380/18, 381/43, 381/46
• US Class Current: 380/30
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3608 using speech input, e.g. using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3629 Guidance using speech or audio output, e.g. text-to-speech text to speech systems per se G10L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/00 Speech recognition G10L17/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/00 Speaker identification or verification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 379/908 Multimedia

Abstract

In an intelligent work station of this invention, map information for a target is stored in a database. Word speech data input through a telephone line is recognized and analyzed, and the database is retrieved accordingly, so that map information specified by the speech input is extracted from the database. The map information is transmitted to a destination communication terminal. When the destination communication terminal does not have an image output function, the map information is analyzed, and document data representing the content of the map is created. The document data is speech-synthesized, and is output to the destination communication terminal via the telephone line.

Claims

1. An intelligent work station comprising:

a database for storing map information;

recognizing means for recognizing a word speech input through a telephone line and analyzing the recognition result;

extraction means for accessing said database in accordance with the recognizing result from said analysis means and extracting the map information indicated by the word speech input;

detection means for detecting by referring to a table, in which function conditions of communication are registered, whether or not a communication terminal from which the word speech input is made by means of the telephone line, has image output means;

means for transmitting by way of the telephone line, image data of the map information extracted by said extraction means, when said detection means detects that the communication terminal has said image output means;

document data creating means for analyzing the map information extracted by said extraction means and creating document data, in accordance with the analysis result, which represents a content of the map which corresponds to said map information, when said detection means detects that the communication terminal does not have said image output means; and

output means for speech-synthesizing the document data created by said document data creating means and outputting the resultant data to the communication terminal via the telephone line. terminal via the telephone line.

2. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, wherein the map information is a guide map for a target, and is classified in units of targets and stored in said data base.

3. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, wherein the word speech input is a route inquiry from a nearest station to a destination.

4. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, wherein said image output means comprises a facsimile device.

5. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, wherein the communication terminal is a telephone terminal having a facsimile function.

6. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, further comprising an image input unit for inputting a variety of image information.

7. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, further comprising a coordinate position input unit for inputting designated coordinate position information.

8. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, further comprising a microphone for inputting speech information.

9. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, further comprising a keyboard for inputting characters, symbols, and control codes.

10. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, further comprising an IC card for exchanging information with said intelligent work station.

11. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, further comprising a loudspeaker for outputting speech information.

12. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, further comprising a display section comprising any of a CRT display, a liquid-crystal display, and a plasma display, for displaying characters, figures, and images.

13. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, further comprising an image output unit comprising any of a facsimile unit, a printer, and a color printer.

14. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, further comprising a communication unit for performing information communication with a telephone, a terminal device, and other intelligent work stations.

15. An intelligent work station according to claim 14, wherein a plurality of said communication units are arranged, and said work station further comprises a communication switching unit for switching said plurality of communication units.

16. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, further comprising encryption processing means for encrypting the map information.

17. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, further comprising speech collating means for determining whether or not the word speech input is a specific speech input.

18. An intelligent work station according to claim 6, further comprising image collating means for determining whether or not image information input by said image input unit is a specific image.

19. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, wherein said recognizing means comprises speech analysis means for extracting a feature of a speech input, and analyzing this feature of the speech input.

20. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, further comprising an output format selection section for selecting whether the map information should be transmitted by way of said image data transmitting means or said document data output means.

21. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, further comprising a work environment data acquisition section for acquiring and inputting information of a functional condition of said intelligent work station and a corresponding work environment in an office.

22. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, further comprising image synthesis/editing means for synthesizing and editing a plurality of image information pieces.

23. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, further comprising a graphic synthesis/editing section for synthesizing and editing a variety of graphic data.

24. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, further comprising means for compressionencoding speech data and expansion-decoding the compressed speech data.

25. An intelligent work station according to claim 16, wherein said encryption processing means comprises an encrypting section for encrypting an input communication text in accordance with an encryption key, a decrypting section for decrypting an input encrypted text in accordance with the encryption key, a private key file section for storing private keys, a public key file section for storing public keys, and a recording/updating section for recording and updating the private and public keys.

26. An intelligent work station according to claim 25, wherein the private keys are known by an intelligent work station which incorporates said encryption processing means, and are kept secret to other intelligent work stations.

27. An intelligent work station according to claim 25, wherein the public keys are paired with the private keys which are set for said intelligent work station, and the paired keys are open to other intelligent work stations.

28. An intelligent work station according to claim 25, wherein said encrypting section comprises an RSA processing section, and a cryptology type adding section, and when a communication text is encrypted to be transmitted, the communication text is encrypted using a public key of a destination intelligent work station, information indicating a type of cryptology is added to the encrypted text to create communication information, and the communication information is transmitted.

29. An intelligent work station according to claim 25, wherein said RSA processing section comprises a block dividing section for dividing an input signal train into blocks each having a predetermined length, a power/remainder calculating section for calculating signal train Ni (=Mj^k (mod n)) using said encryption key for each block, and a block coupling section for coupling the divided blocks.

30. An intelligent work station according to claim 25, wherein said intelligent work station encrypts communication information in accordance with a given public key, and the encrypted communication text is decrypted by an intelligent work station which has a private key paired with the given public key.

31. An intelligent work station according to claim 18, wherein said image collating means performs an arithmetic operation ##EQU9## where X_i is the feature data of an input image (i indicates a type of feature), and Yi is the feature data of a registered image, and Y specifies the data which has the smallest calculation result D as its image data.

32. An intelligent work station according to claim 1, wherein said speech input recognizing means comprises a filter bank for extracting a change in spectrum of an input speech signal, and a gloss filter for extracting acoustic features of the input speech signal.

33. An intelligent work station according to claim 21, wherein said work environment data acquisition section comprises a command analyzing section for analyzing whether an input command is a command used in said intelligent work station or not, and a command correspondence table section for storing a correspondence table between the commands which are used in other systems and having functions identical to those of said intelligent work station, and commands used in said intelligent work station, and when a command which is not used in said intelligent work station is input, said command analyzing section refers to said command correspondence table section so as to convert the input command into a corresponding command used in said intelligent work station.

34. An intelligent work station according to claim 21, wherein said work environment data acquisition section prestores degrees of skill in units of users of said intelligent work station, and presents different messages to users in accordance with the degree of skill of the users.