Speech synthesis based on cricothyroid and cricoid modeling

• US 6,317,713 B1
• Filed: 01/06/1999
• Issued: 11/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Arcadia Group Limited (Taveta Limited)
• Original Assignee: Arcadia Group Limited (Taveta Limited)
• Inventors: Tenpaku, Seiichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Knepper, David D.
• Application Number:
  US09/155,156
• Time in Patent Office: 1,042 Days
• Field of Search: 704/231, 704/205, 704/206, 704/258, 704/260, 704/261, 704/266, 704/268, 607/48, 607/72, 607/134, 128/902, 600/380
• US Class Current: 704/261
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/04 Details of speech synthesis systems, e.g. synthesiser structure or memory management
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/08 Text analysis or generation of parameters for speech synthesis out of text, e.g. grapheme to phoneme translation, prosody generation or stress or intonation determination
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/10 Prosody rules derived from text; Stress or intonation

Abstract

Sound generating parameters are used for outputting fundamental frequency and a command regarding prosody, and a sound source generator. The sound generation device further includes use of an accent command and a descent command for calculating fundamental frequency and incorporates a rhythm command, which is representable by a sine wave. The device also uses character string analysis for analyzing a character string and generating a command concerning phoneme and prosody, a calculating element for outputting fundamental frequency as sound generation parameters, which depends on prosody, a sound source generator, and an articulator that depends on a phoneme command.

Claims

1. A sound source generation device characterized in that the device comprises:

calculating component for sound source generating parameters for outputting fundamental frequency at least as sound source generating parameters, upon receiving the command concerning prosody and according to the said command; and

sound source generating component for generating sound source upon receiving sound source generating parameters from calculating component for sound source generating parameters and according to the said sound source generating parameters;

wherein the generation of fundamental frequency is represented in the model with two forces;

a force τ

1 that causes the thyroid cartilage to rotate, by virtue of contraction of the cricothyroid muscle, toward the vocal folds stretch and a force τ

2 that causes the cricoid cartilage to rotate toward the vocal folds contraction; and

both the accent command corresponding to the said force τ

1 and the descent command corresponding to the said force τ

2 are given for calculating fundamental frequency; and

calculating component for sound source generating parameters calculates sound source generating parameters according to the accent command and the descent command.

2. A computer-readable storing medium for storing programs, which are executable, by using a computer, for executing any device or method of claim 1 by using a computer.

3. The sound source generation device of claim 1 characterized in that:

the rhythm command indicating the tendency of fundamental frequency change is further given for calculating fundamental frequency, and

calculating component for sound source generating parameters calculates sound source generating parameters according to the accent command, the descent command, and the rhythm command.

4. The sound source generation device of claim 3 characterized in that the said rhythm command is represented with a sine wave.

5. The sound source generation device of claim 4 characterized by controlling the characteristic of the generated sound source by means of controlling the amplitude and cycle of the said sine wave.

6. A speech synthesis device characterized in that the device comprises:

character string analyzing means for analyzing a given character string and generating the command concerning phoneme and the command concerning prosody,

calculating means for sound source generating parameters for outputting fundamental frequency as sound source generating parameters at least, upon receiving the command concerning prosody generated by character string analyzing means and according to the said command,

sound source generating means for generating sound source, upon receiving sound source generating parameters from calculating component for sound source generating parameters and according to the said sound source generating parameters, and

articulation means for articulating sound source from sound source generating means according to the command concerning phoneme from character string analyzing means,

wherein the generation of fundamental frequency is represented in the model with two forces;

a force τ

1 that causes the thyroid cartilage to rotate, by virtue of contraction of the cricothyroid muscle, toward the vocal folds stretch and a force τ

2 that causes the cricoid cartilage to rotate toward the vocal folds contraction, and as well as,

character string analyzing means described above generates both the accent command corresponding to the said force τ

1 and the descent command corresponding to the said force τ

2 for calculating the fundamental frequency, and

calculating means for sound source generating parameters described above calculates fundamental frequency according to the accent command and the descent command.

7. The speech synthesis device of claim 6 is characterized in that:

character string analyzing means further generates the rhythm command indicating the tendency of fundamental frequency change as the command concerning prosody, and

calculating means for sound source generating parameters calculates fundamental frequency according to the accent command, the descent command, and the rhythm command.

8. The speech synthesis device of claim 7 characterized in that calculating means for sound source generating parameters generates the rhythm command as a sine wave.

9. The speech synthesis device of claim 8 characterized in that calculating means for sound source generating parameters controls the characteristic of synthesized speech sound generated, by means of controlling the amplitude and cycle of the said sine wave.

10. A speech processing method using fundamental frequency as parameters at least characterized by:

modeling the generation of fundamental frequency with two forces;

a force τ

1 that causes the thyroid cartilage to rotate, by virtue of contraction of the cricothyroid muscle, toward the vocal folds stretch and a force τ

2 that causes the cricoid cartilage to rotate toward the vocal folds contraction, and as well as,

adopting the accent command corresponding to the said force τ

1 and the descent command corresponding to the said force τ

2 for calculating fundamental frequency as elements for controlling the said fundamental frequency.

11. The speech processing method of claim 10 characterized by further adopting the rhythm command indicating the tendency of fundamental frequency change as elements for controlling fundamental frequency.

12. A speech analyzing method for analyzing the characteristic of speech sound characterized by:

modeling the generation of fundamental frequency with two forces;

a force τ

1 that causes the thyroid cartilage to rotate, by virtue of contraction of the cricothyroid muscle, toward the vocal folds stretch and a force τ

2 that causes the cricoid cartilage to rotate toward the vocal folds contraction, and as well as,

by performing analysis using the accent command corresponding to the said force τ

1 and the descent command corresponding to the said force τ

2 as elements for analyzing fundamental frequency of the speech sound.

13. The speech analyzing method of claim 12 characterized by further adopting the rhythm command indicating the tendency of fundamental frequency change as elements for analyzing the said fundamental frequency.