Text-to-speech processor, and parser for use in such a processor

Abstract: A text parser (34) for a text-to-speech processor accepts a text stream and parses the text stream to (36) detect non-spoken characters. A text generator generates pre-designated text sequences in response to non-spoken characters, such as special character sequences or character sequences which match format templates. A speech command generator (37) generates speech commands in response to detecting of non-spoken characters such as non-spoken characters which affect text style, font, underlining, etc. A text-to-speech converter (26) converts spoken text parsed by the parser and text generated by the text generator into speech, the text-to-speech converter being operable in response to speech commands generated by the speech command generator. According to the invention, it is not necessary to pre-process text files in preparation for text-to-speech conversion, and arbitrary files which contain both spoken and non-spoken characters may be converted easily.

Description: The present invention relates to a parser for text that is to be subjected to text-to-speech processing, and particularly to such a parser which detects non-spoken characters and which replaces those characters with spoken text-equivalent characters or which generates speech commands based on the non-spoken characters. Recently, as the technology for electronically converting text-to-speech has advanced, direct text-to-speech conversion is replacing other techniques where computer generated speech is desired, for example, digitized speech techniques in which spoken words are digitized by high speed analog-to-digital sampling and the digitized words are stored for selective play out. In comparison to direct text-to-speech, however, digital speech techniques consume large amounts of memory because a different storage location is needed for each one of the high speed digital samples. Direct text-to-speech techniques, on the other hand, need only store ASCII text, and consequently those direct text-to-speech techniques need only about 1/1000 of the memory needed by digitized speech techniques. Moreover, digitized speech techniques are unsuitable for many applications where computer generated speech is needed. Digitized speech does not work when original audio signals are not available, for example, when it is desired to "speak" an incoming facsimile. Direct text-to-speech, on the other hand, can perform optical character recognition on the incoming facsimile message and channel the text which results from optical character recognition processing to a text-to-speech converter, whereby an incoming facsimile message may be spoken. Despite the desirability of direct text-to-speech, conventional text-to-speech processes have only limited ability to adapt to the format of an incoming text stream. For example, an incoming text stream often contains characters that are not part of the message being communicated, such as new paragraph marks, printer control characters, and other "non-spoken" characters. Conventional text-to-speech processors attempt to speak each and every character that is fed to it, including the non-spoken characters embedded in the text, which results in garbled speech. Moreover, there has not been provisions to automatically vary the intonation of text-to-speech processors based on the context of the text. This results in monotonous sequences of monotone speech. According to US-A-5 157 759, describing a written language parser system, it is possible to send arbitrary text files to a text-to-speech converter, without it being necessary to manually edit text files before text-to-speech processing so as to remove certain non-spoken characters and so as to insert speech commands (for example, insert pauses between words) so as to break monotony. However this prior system does not remove all non-spoken characters nor leaves the spoken character sequences unchanged. It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing difficulties. According to the present invention there is provided a text processor for a text-to-speech converter comprising: a parser for accepting a stream of character codes corresponding to characters that form at least a part of a character string to be spoken mixed with characters that do not form at least a part of a character string to be spoken and for parsing the stream to detect first sequences of character codes corresponding to characters that form at least a part of a character string to be spoken and second sequences of character codes corresponding to characters that form at least a part of a character string not to be spoken, said first sequences of character codes not being altered in the text stream, said parser further being arranged to differentiate between second sequences of character codes having a first characteristic and second sequences of character codes having a second characteristic; a text generator, responsive to detection of a second sequence of character codes having the first characteristic, for generating pre-designated character codes based on said second sequence of character codes having the first characteristic, and for replacing, in the stream of character codes said second sequence of character codes having the first characteristic with said pre-designated character codes; and a speech command generator, responsive to detection of a second sequence of character codes having the second characteristic, for deleting such character codes from the stream of character codes and for generating pre-designated speech commands for the text-to-speech converter. According to the invention there is also provided a text-to-speech processor comprising: an input buffer for storing a stream of character codes; a text-to-speech interface for receiving character codes and speech commands, whereby character codes in the stream of such codes may be converted into speech whose characteristics are controlled by the speech commands; a parser including a pointer for pointing to a starting one of character codes in said input buffer, for parsing character codes starting at the pointer's position to detect a first sequence of character codes corresponding to characters that form at least a part of a character string to be spoken and a second sequence of character codes corresponding to characters that form at least a part of a character string not to be spoken, said parser being adapted to send said first sequences of character codes to said text-to-speech interface without altering said character codes; a text generator for generating pre-designated sequences of character codes in response to detection of a second sequence of character codes having a first characteristic for replacing, in the character code stream, such character codes with said pre-designated sequences of character codes, and for sending the generated sequences of character codes to said text-to-speech interface; means for updating the position of said pointer; and a speech command generator for generating speech commands in response to detection of a second sequence of character codes having a second characteristic, for deleting such character codes from the stream of character codes, and for sending the generated speech commands to said text-to-speech interface. According to the invention there is also provided a text-to-speech processing apparatus comprising: a processing unit including a computer for executing stored program process steps; a memory for storing a plurality of data files which include character codes for text and for storing process steps for execution by said processing unit; and a text-to-speech converter for converting character codes in a stream of such codes into speech and for executing speech commands; characterised in that said computer includes means for executing the following steps: selecting one of the data files stored in said memory; advancing a pointer through the selected data file; parsing characters starting at the pointer's position to detect first sequences of character codes corresponding to characters that form at least a part of a character string to be spoken and second sequences of character codes corresponding to characters that form at least a part of a character string not to be spoken; feeding said first sequences of character codes to said text-to-speech converter without altering such character codes; generating pre-designated sequences of codes in response to detection of said second sequences of character codes for a first type; replacing said second sequences of character codes for the first type with said pre-designated sequences of codes; feeding the replacement codes to said text-to-speech converter; generating speech commands in response to detection of said second sequence of character codes for a second type; by passing such character codes so that they are not fed to the text-to-speech converter; and feeding the generated speech commands to said text-to-speech converter for execution thereby, whereby character codes in the selected data files are converted to speech. In one aspect, the invention is a text parser which parses the text fed to a text-to-speech converter so as to detect non-spoken characters. Any non-spoken characters that are detected are subjected to analysis. If the non-spoken characters match any one of a set of first characteristics, such as non-spoken characters that designate the position and paragraphing of text on a page or non-spoken character sequences having pre-designated formats, then the non-spoken characters are replaced by pre-designated text sequences that correspond to the non-spoken characters. If the non-spoken characters match any one of a set of second characteristics, such as non-spoken characters that indicate the typeface, font, underlining or boldness of succeeding text, then those non-spoken characters are deleted and replaced with speech commands which cause a text-to-speech converter to vary intonation, speaking speed, etc. The characteristics of non-spoken characters may be determined in accordance with stored tables of characteristics. The tables contain formatting information and rules for dealing with the different aspects of non-spoken characters. A first table contains a list of unprintable or non-spoken characters. A second table contains a list of mark-up codes by which conventional word processing programs designate text style (for example, bold, italics, etc.) fonts, underlining, etc. Another table stores a list of non-spoken characters such as exclamation points, mathematical symbols, etc. that are to be replaced by text-equivalent spoken characters. Yet another table stores format templates for converting specially formatted strings such as dates, times, and DOS path names into speakable text-equivalent strings. Yet another table interprets the spatial relationship of text within a printed page (for example, titles, captions for figures, paragraphing, etc.) to identify and assign user specifiable changes in speech commands (intonation, etc.) and to insert user-specifiable legends. The text stream input to the parser may be obtained from a variety of sources. For example, the text stream may be obtained from word processing files which ordinarily contain significant numbers of non-spoken characters that designate paper size, font, underlining, spacing, etc. Likewise, the input text may be obtained from electronic mail on a local area network, or it may be downloaded from an electronic bulletin board via a modem. Finally, it is possible to obtain input text files by subjecting input facsimile messages to optical character recognition processing and storing the resulting text for pre-parsing and text-to-speech conversion. Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention. Figure 2 is a functional block diagram for explaining text parsing. Figure 3 is a flow diagram for explaining text parsing according to one embodiment of the invention. Figure 4(a) through 4(d) are representative reference tables by which parsing of non-spoken characters is conducted. Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention. In Figure 1, reference numeral 10 designates personal computing equipment such as an IBM PC or PC-compatible computer. Computing equipment 10 includes a CPU 11 such as an 80386 processor which executes stored program instructions such as operator-selected applications programs that are stored in RAM 14 or specialized functions such as start-up programs which are stored in ROM 12. Computing equipment 10 further includes a local area network interface device 15 which provides access to a local area network 16 whereby the computing equipment can access files on a remote file server or send files for remote printing or otherwise interact with a local area network in accordance with known techniques such as by sending or receiving electronic mail. Computing equipment 10 further includes a monitor 17 for displaying graphic images and a keyboard/mouse 19 for allowing operator designation and inputting functions. Mass storage memory 20, such as a fixed disk or a floppy disk drive is connected for access by CPU 11. Mass storage memory 20 typically includes stored program instructions sequences such as an instruction sequence for text parsing or other application programs such as word processing application programs, optical character recognition programs, spread sheet application programs, and other information and data processing programs. Mass storage memory 20 further stores reference tables for use by the text parser, as well as arbitrary files which include text that are to be processed by text-to-speech conversion, scripting files which control a text-to-speech narration process, image files which are inserted by the scripting files, digitized sound files which are inserted by the scripting files and MIDI files which are inserted by the scripting files. Other data may be stored on mass storage memory 20 as designated by the operator. A modem 21, a facsimile interface 22, and a voice telephone interface 24 are provided so that CPU 11 can interface to an ordinary telephone line 25. Each of the modem 21, facsimile interface 22, and voice telephone interface 24 are given access to the telephone line 25 via a telephone line switch 26 which is activated under control by CPU 11 so as to connect the telephone line 25 to one of the modem 21, the facsimile 22 or the voice telephone interface 24, as appropriate to the data on the telephone line. Thus, CPU 11 can send and receive binary data such as ASCII text files via modem 21, it can send and receive facsimile messages via facsimile interface 22, and it can interact on ordinary voice telephone lines via voice telephone interface 24. In this regard, voice telephone interface 24 is provided with a DTMF decoder so as to decode tones on voice telephone which correspond to operator depressions of a telephone keypad. The decoded tones are interpreted by CPU 11 as operator commands in accordance with program instructions stored in mass storage memory 20. A conventional text-to-speech converter 26 is connected to CPU 11. The text-to-speech converter 26 interprets text strings sent to it and converts those text strings to audio speech information. The text-to-speech converter 13 provides the audio speech information either to a speaker 27 for enunciation to a local computer operator, or provides the audio speech information to the voice telephone interface 24 for enunciation over ordinary voice telephone lines. Figure 2 is a functional block diagram for explaining the operation of the Figure 1 apparatus. In Figure 2, 30 is a text parser for parsing text stored in input buffer 31 and for storing parsed text in output buffer 32. The parsed text in output buffer 32 is spoken by text-to-speech converter 26 over voice telephone interface 24 or over speaker 27 as explained above. Text parser 30 is implemented in accordance with a stored program instruction sequence stored in mass storage memory 20 and executed by CPU 11. Typically, the stored program instruction steps are stored in RAM 14 and executed out of RAM. Likewise, input buffer 31 and output buffer 32 are stored in other locations in RAM 14. The text that is stored in input buffer 31 and which is parsed by text parser 30 may be provided from a variety of text sources. For example, the text may be generated by word processing programs which have been executed by CPU 11 and which stores the resulting word processed files in mass storage memory. The text may also be obtained by similarly processed word processed files which are accessed from a file server across local area network 16. Or, the text may be obtained from electronic mail messages which are sent and received to users in the local area network over the local area network 16. The text files may also be obtained in binary format, for example, ASCII, from modem 21 via telephone line 25 and telephone line switch 26. Such binary data is often associated with computerized bulletin boards and is downloaded by CPU 11 in accordance with stored program instruction sequences. The text file may also be obtained by optical character recognition processing of a facsimile document that is received from telephone line 25 via facsimile interface 22. In accordance with conventional technology, facsimile images that are received from facsimile interface 22 are converted by CPU 11 into bit map images and the bit map images are subjected to optical character recognition processing. The text files that result from optical character recognition processing may be stored in mass storage memory 20 and thereupon provided to input buffer 31, or may be provided directly to input buffer 31. In Figure 2, text parser 30 includes a parser 34 which maintains a pointer 33 to characters in input buffer 31. Based on the position of that pointer, characters are provided to parser 34. Parser 34 inspects those characters to detect non-spoken characters. Spoken characters are provided directly to output buffer 32 for enunciation by text-to-speech converter 13. Non-spoken characters are determined by reference to one of reference tables 35, the contents of which will be discussed more fully with respect to Figure 4. For non-spoken characters, parser 34 inspects those characters with respect to reference tables 35 to determine whether they have certain characteristics. For example, if parser 34 determines that the non-spoken characters correspond to certain pre-designated character sequences, such as punctuation marks or mathematical symbols, then text generator 36 generates text-equivalent sequences in replacement for those non-spoken characters. If, on the other hand, parser 34 determines that the non-spoken characters correspond to certain escape sequences which control text font, style, underlining, appearance, etc. then speech command generator 37 generates speech commands which alter the manner in which text-to-speech converter 13 enunciates the speech. For example, via commands generated by speech command generator 37, the text-to-speech converter 13 can modify speed, pitch (frequency), volume, stress or voice. In Figure 2, text and speech commands are provided serially to the output buffer whereupon text-to-speech converter 13 sequentially and serially processes the text and embedded speech commands so as to extract the speech commands from the text. This arrangement is preferable, because since the speech commands are embedded in the text, it is not possible to lose synchronization between text and the speech commands associated with that text. On the other hand, when speech commands are not embedded in text then it is possible to lose synchronization between text and the associated commands because the commands and text are processed by the text-to-speech converter 13 separately. It is also preferable for the text parser 34 not simply to read the input buffer 31 from beginning to end but rather to provide for control over pointer 33 which points to text in the buffer. As shown in Figure 2, CPU 11 preferably provides for pointer positioning commands which allow operator interface and control over the sequence by which the input buffer is provided. For example, in accordance with operator input from keyboard 19, CPU 11 may re-position pointer 33 so as to repeat text strings in the input buffer, or so as to backspace or fast forward through the input buffer. Likewise, it is possible for an operator to indicate that only certain portions should be parsed. For example, an operator may designate that only the first sentence of each paragraph be spoken, or, in the case of electronic mail, that only header information such as sender and subject be spoken. Similar control over the position of pointer 33 in input buffer 31 may also be provided for remote users via telephone interface 24. In this case, a remote user may designate text play out commands by depressing selected keys on a touch telephone dial pad. The resulting DTMF tones are decoded by DTMF decoder 24a and provided to CPU 11 via the voice telephone interface 24. CPU 11 can interpret those DTMF commands and re-position the pointer in response to those commands in much the same manner as commands entered by local users through keyboard/mouse 19. Figure 3 is a detailed flow diagram showing operation of the present invention. In step S301, an input text file is obtained and loaded into input buffer 31. As mentioned above, the input text file can be obtained from any of a variety of sources, such as a word processing text file, a DOS text file, electronic mail, etc. In step S302, parser 34 sets pointer 33 to the beginning of the input buffer 31. Characters are provided to parser 34 from the pointer's position. In step S303, the characters provided to the parser are inspected to determine if an action token has been detected at the position of pointer 33. An "action token" refers to as a special character, such as a vertical bar ("|") by which a scripting program which includes text narration to be converted into speech can command certain actions to be taken, such as commanding an image file to be inserted onto a monitor, commanding digitized sound to be played over a speaker, commanding MIDI music to be played, etc. If in step S303 an action token has been detected, then in step S304, the command sequence which follows the action token is sent to a presentation manager for execution. The position of pointer 33 is updated in step S305 to the position in input buffer 31 which immediately follows the command sequence, and flow returns to step S303 for inspection of the characters at the new pointer position. If in step S303 an action token is not detected, then flow advances to step S306 which determines whether the pointer points to non-spoken characters. Non-spoken characters are determined by reference to one of reference tables 35, such as the table illustrated in Figure 4(a). As shown in that figure, the table includes only spoken characters such as those characters between hexadecimal codes 20H through 7EH. The table is user-modifiable, so that other spoken codes can be added to the table, for example, when special characters for European accents may be present in the text. For example, certain spoken codes can include an accented lower case e ("é") whose hexadecimal code is 8Ah. If a non-spoken character is not detected at the pointer, then step S307 determines whether there is any associated spatial context with the character. For example, when it is desired to convert a text file which includes the text for a form organized into title fields, the position of those fields is an associated spatial context to the text. Thus, the position of the field may indicate a title or the position of the field may indicate a social security number or the position of the field may indicate a name, etc. If there is any associated spatial context with the field, then flow advances to step S308 in which a text label for that field is inserted into output buffer 32. Thus, if the spatial context of the field indicates that the text in input buffer 31 is a social security number, then step S308 inserts the text "social security number" into output buffer 32. In either event, flow advances to step S309 in which the text characters at the position of pointer 33 in input buffer 31 are sent to output buffer 32. The position of pointer 33 in the output buffer 31 is updated (step S310) and flow thereupon returns to step S303 for inspection of the characters at the new pointer position. Meanwhile, in step S311, text-to-speech converter 13 obtains text from output buffer 32 and converts the text into speech for enunciation by speaker 27 or voice telephone interface 24. It is to be understood that the speaking step shown in step S311 occurs concurrently and independently of the steps which load text and speech commands into output buffer 32. The inclusion of step S311 in Figure 3 is for illustrative purposes only and is not to be construed as an indication of sequential operation. Reverting to step S306, if that step determines that there are non-spoken characters at the position of pointer 33 then flow advances to step S312 which determined whether the non-spoken characters are associated with intonation and/or speed commands. The determination in step S312 is made by reference to one of reference tables 35, such as the tables shown in Figure 4(b). As shown in that table, the non-spoken characters at the proper position are compared to mark-up codes which are conventionally used by word processing programs to indicate that a different style is to be used for the succeeding text. For example, a mark-up code "&B" may indicate that the succeeding text is to be printed in bold letters, and a mark-up code "&I" may indicate that the succeeding text is to be printed in italics. If by reference to the table in Figure 4(b) step S312 determines that the non-spoken characters correspond to mark-up codes, then flow advances to step S313 in which speech commands are obtained from the table and used by speech command generator to insert a speech command into the output buffer 32. For example, if a mark-up code for bold text is detected in step S312, then a speech command for increased emphasis, such as {loud volume}{slow speed} may be inserted into output buffer 32 by speech command generator 37. Likewise, different styles generate different speech commands for different emphasis as set forth in the table. The table in Figure 4(b) also shows generated text associated with mark-up codes. If desired, it is possible for step S313 also to cause text generator 36 to insert an enunciation of the mark-up code into the output buffer so that the listener may understand fully that the mark-up code has been encountered in the input buffer 31. In step S314, the position of pointer 33 is updated to a position after the mark-up code. Flow then returns to step S303 for inspection of the characters at the new pointer position. If in step S312 the non-spoken characters are not associated with intonation and/or speed commands, then flow advances to step S315 in which parser 34 inspects the non-spoken characters to determine whether they form part of a formatted string of characters. The determination in step S315 is made by reference to one of the reference tables 35, such as the table shown in Figure 4(c). As shown in Figure 4(c), the table includes format templates which comprise wild card fields, for example "[F1]", as well as format data such as ":" and "\". If parser 34 determines in step S315 that the character string beginning at the position of pointer 33 matches the format of one of the format templates in the reference table of Figure 4(c), then text generator 36 generates the associated text. Format templates may be provided for several different formats such as computer file designation formats, dates, time-of-day, etc. The format templates illustrated in Figure 4(c) are for computer file designation formats and time-of-day formats. Thus, for example, if the character string beginning at the position of pointer 33 is "D:\media\images.tif", then parser 34 will determine in step S315 that the character string matches the format template for a computer file designation which is the first entry in the table of Figure 4(c). In this example, [F1] = "D", [F2] = "media", and [F3] = "images.tif". Then, in step S316, the character string is converted into a text-equivalent format in accordance with the generated text entry from the table. Thus, in this example, text generator 36 generates the following text: "computer file designation: drive D, media directory, images.tif file". The text generated by text generator 36 is inserted into the output buffer 32 (step S317). The table shown in Figure 4(c) may also include speech commands such as {low volume}, etc. so as to place emphasis where important. If speech commands are present then speech command generator 37 generates the needed speech commands and inserts them in the proper sequence with text into output buffer 32. In the foregoing example, speech commands are generated so that "computer text file designation" is spoken with a lower volume than the remainder of the character string. In any event, in step S318, the position of pointer 33 is updated to the position next succeeding the character string that was converted to text-equivalent format and flow returns to step S303 for inspection of the characters at the new pointer position. If in step S315 the non-spoken characters at the pointer position are not part of a formatted string, then flow advances to step S319 where parser 34 determines whether the non-spoken characters are non-spoken punctuation marks. Parser 34 makes this determination by reference to one of reference tables 35, such as the reference table shown in Figure 4(d). As seen there, each punctuation mark or other non-spoken symbol such as arithmetic symbols is associated with a text phrase which is generated by text generator 36 and inserted into output buffer 32 (step S320). If desired, a speech command may also be stored in the reference table. If present, the speech command is used by speech command generator 37 and is inserted into the appropriate position of output buffer 32. If in step S319 parser 34 does not determine that the non-spoken characters are punctuation marks, then in step S322, parser 34 concludes that the non-spoken characters are simply "noise" characters that should be deleted. For this purpose, parser 34 preferably examines adjacent characters so that even one or two or three spoken characters that are positioned between non-spoken characters are also determined to be "noise". Examining adjacent characters ensures that characters which are not meant to be spoken but which by chance are speakable, such as the letter "C" embedded in a sequence of non-spoken escape characters, are not inadvertently spoken. In step S323, text generator 36 generates "unprintable text deleted" and inserts that text in output buffer 32 so that it is enunciated as a message to the user by text-to-speech converter 13. In step S324, the noise characters are skipped by updating the position of pointer 33 past the end of the noise characters.

Claims: A text processor for a text-to-speech converter comprising: a parser (34) for accepting a stream of character codes corresponding to characters that form at least a part of a character string to be spoken mixed with characters that do not form at least a part of a character string to be spoken and for parsing the stream to detect first sequences of character codes corresponding to characters that form at least a part of a character string to be spoken and second sequences of character codes corresponding to characters that form at least a part of a character string not to be spoken, said first sequences of character codes not being altered in the text stream, said parser further being arranged to differentiate between second sequences of character codes having a first characteristic and second sequences of character codes having a second characteristic; a text generator (36), responsive to detection of a second sequence of character codes having the first characteristic, for generating pre-designated character codes based on said second sequence of character codes having the first characteristic, and for replacing, in the stream of character codes said second sequence of character codes having the first characteristic with said pre-designated character codes; and a speech command generator (37), responsive to detection of a second sequence of character codes having the second characteristic, for deleting such character codes from the stream of character codes and for generating pre-designated speech commands for the text-to-speech converter. A text processor according to Claim 1, wherein said parser (34) includes a pointer for pointing to an input position in an input character buffer, said stream of character codes comprising characters pointed to by said pointer. A text processor according to Claim 1 or 2, further comprising a text-to-speech interface (32) for receiving said first sequences of character codes parsed by said parser (34), said predesignated character codes generated by said text generator (36), and said speech commands generated by said speech command generator (37). A text processor according to Claim 3, wherein said text-to-speech interface (32) is comprised by an output buffer for sequentially storing said first sequences of character codes parsed by said parser (34), said predesignated character codes generated by said text generator (36), and said speech commands generated by said speech command generator (37). A text-to-speech processor comprising: an input buffer (31) for storing a stream of character codes; a text-to-speech interface for receiving character codes and speech commands, whereby character codes in the stream of such codes may be converted into speech whose characteristics are controlled by the speech commands; a parser (34) including a pointer for pointing to a starting one of character codes in said input buffer (31), for parsing character codes starting at the pointer's position to detect a first sequence of character codes corresponding to characters that form at least a part of a character string to be spoken and a second sequence of character codes corresponding to characters that form at least a part of a character string not to be spoken, said parser being adapted to send said first sequences of character codes to said text-to-speech interface without altering said character codes; a text generator (36) for generating pre-designated sequences of character codes in response to detection of a second sequence of character codes having a first characteristic for replacing, in the character code stream, such character codes with said pre-designated sequences of character codes, and for sending the generated sequences of character codes to said text-to-speech interface; means for updating the position of said pointer; and a speech command generator (37) for generating speech commands in response to detection of a second sequence of character codes having a second characteristic, for deleting such character codes from the stream of character codes, and for sending the generated speech commands to said text-to-speech interface. A processor according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein said text generator is adapted to generate the pre-designated sequences of character codes in accordance with a look-up table. A processor according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, further comprising a look-up table, wherein the first characteristic is determined by reference to said look-up table. A processor according to Claim 7, wherein said text generator (36) is adapted to generate the pre-designated sequences of character codes in accordance with a look-up table. A processor according to Claim 8, wherein said look-up table comprises pre-designated characters associated with text mark-up codes. A processor according to Claim 9, wherein said table further comprises speech commands associated with text mark-up codes, and said speech command generator (37) is adapted to generate speech commands in response to speech commands in the look-up table. A processor according to Claim 8, wherein the look-up table comprises pre-designated characters associated with punctuation and arithmetic symbols. A processor according to Claim 11, wherein said table further comprises speech commands associated with punctuation and arithmetic symbols, and said speech command generator (37) is adapted to generate speech commands in response to speech commands in the look-up table. A processor according to Claim 8, wherein said look-up table comprises format templates. A processor according to Claim 13, wherein said format templates further include embedded speech commands, and said speech command generator (37) is adapted to generate speech commands based on the embedded speech commands. A processor according to any preceding claim, further comprising a look-up table wherein the second characteristic is determined by reference to said look-up table. A processor according to Claim 15, wherein said speech command generator (37) is adapted to generate speech in accordance with the look-up table. A processor according to Claim 16, wherein said look-up table comprises speech commands associated with text mark-up codes. A processor according to Claim 17, wherein said table further comprises pre-designated text associated with text mark-up codes, said text generator (36) is adapted to generate text in response to the pre-designated text in the look-up table. A processor according to Claim 16, wherein the look-up table comprises speech commands associated with punctuation and arithmetic symbols. A processor according to Claim 19, wherein said table further comprises pre-designated text associated with punctuation and arithmetic symbols, and said text generator (36) is adapted to generate text in response to pre-designated text in the look-up table. A processor according to Claim 16, wherein said look-up table comprises format templates. A processor according to Claim 21, wherein said format templates further include speech commands having embedded pre-designated text, and said text generator (36) is adapted to generate text based on the embedded pre-designated text. A processor according to any preceding claim, wherein said parser (34) is adapted to detect said second sequences character codes by reference to a look-up table of spoken characters. A text-to-speech processor according to Claim 5, further comprising a voice telephone interface (24) for receiving speech generated by said text-to-speech converter (26) and for putting the generated speech on a voice telephone line. A text-to-speech processor according to Claim 24, wherein said voice telephone interface (24) includes a DTMF decoder (24a) for decoding DTMF text positioning commands. A text-to-speech processor according to Claim 25, wherein said parser (34) is adapted to re-position said pointer in said input buffer (31) in accordance with the decoded positioning commands. A text-to-speech processor according to Claim 5, further comprising means for providing positioning commands, wherein said parser (34) is adapted to re-position said pointer in said input buffer based on the positioning commands. A text-to-speech processor according to Claim 27, wherein said means for providing the positioning commands is a graphical user interface. A text-to-speech processing apparatus comprising: a processing unit including a computer for executing stored program process steps; a memory (20) for storing a plurality of data files which include character codes for text and for storing process steps for execution by said processing unit; and a text-to-speech converter (26) for converting character codes in a stream of such codes into speech and for executing speech commands; characterised in that said computer includes means for executing the following steps: selecting one of the data files stored in said memory; advancing a pointer through the selected data file; parsing characters starting at the pointer's position to detect first sequences of character codes corresponding to characters that form at least a part of a character string to be spoken and second sequences of character codes corresponding to characters that form at least a part of a character string not to be spoken; feeding said first sequences of character codes to said text-to-speech converter without altering such character codes; generating pre-designated sequences of codes in response to detection of said second sequences of character codes for a first type; replacing said second sequences of character codes for the first type with said pre-designated sequences of codes; feeding the replacement codes to said text-to-speech converter; generating speech commands in response to detection of said second sequence of character codes for a second type; bypassing such character codes so that they are not fed to the text-to-speech converter; and feeding the generated speech commands to said text-to-speech converter for execution thereby, whereby character codes in the selected data files are converted to speech. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 29, further comprising interface means for accessing remote data files, wherein storage means are provided to store the remotely accessed data files in said memory. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 30, wherein said interface means includes a LAN interface (15) for accessing local area network files. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 30 or 31, wherein said interface means includes a modem (21) for downloading binary data files modulated on a voice telephone line. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 30, 31 or 32, wherein said interface means includes a facsimile interface (22), and wherein recognition means are provided to perform optical character recognition on received facsimiles and to store resulting text into said memory. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 29 further comprising a look-up table stored in said memory, wherein text is generated in accordance with said look-up table. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 34, wherein said look-up table comprises pre-designated codes associated with text mark-up codes. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 35, wherein said table further comprises speech commands associated with text mark-up codes, wherein speech commands are generated in response to speech commands in the look-up table. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 34, wherein the look-up table comprises pre-designated codes associated with punctuation and arithmetic symbols. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 37, wherein said table further comprises speech commands associated with punctuation and arithmetic symbols text mark-up codes, wherein speech commands are generated in response to speech commands in the look-up table. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 34, wherein said look-up table comprises format templates. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 39, wherein embedded speech commands are included in the text for said format templates, wherein speech commands are generated based on the embedded speech commands. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 29, further comprising a look-up table stored in said memory, wherein said speech commands are generated in accordance with said look-up table. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 41, wherein said look-up table comprises speech commands associated with text mark-up codes. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 42, wherein said table further comprises pre-designated codes associated with text mark-up codes, wherein speech commands are generated in response to speech commands in the look-up table. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 41, wherein the look-up table comprises speech commands associated with punctuation and arithmetic symbols. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 44, wherein said table further comprises pre-designated codes associated with text mark-up codes, wherein text is generated in response to pre-designated codes in the look-up table. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 41, wherein said look-up table comprises format templates. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 46, wherein said format templates further include speech commands having embedded pre-designated codes, and wherein text is generated based on the embedded pre-designated codes. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to any of Claims 29 to 47, further comprising a look-up table of spoken characters, wherein said second sequences of character codes are detected by reference to said look-up table. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to any of Claims 29 to 48, further comprising a voice telephone interface (24) for receiving speech generated by said text-to-speech converter (26) and for putting the generated speech on a voice telephone line (25). A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 49, wherein said voice telephone interface (24) includes a DTMF decoder (24a) for decoding DTMF text positioning commands. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 50, wherein the decoder provides decoded positioning commands and wherein said processing unit re-positions the pointer in accordance with the decoded positioning commands. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to any of Claims 29 to 51, wherein the process steps stored in said memory further include process steps to re-position the pointer based on positioning commands. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to Claim 52, further comprising a graphical user interface wherein the positioning commands are provided by the graphical user interface. A text processor according to Claim 1, wherein the code stream is comprised by a stream of hexadecimal codes such as ASCII codes for each character in the code stream. A text-to-speech processor apparatus according to Claim 5, wherein the code stream is comprised by a stream of hexadecimal codes such as ASCII codes for each character in the code stream. A text-to-speech processing apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the code stream is comprised by a stream of hexadecimal codes such as ASCII codes for each character in the code stream.

Inventors: LUTHER WILLIS J, LUTHER, WILLIS J.
Applicants: CANON INFORMATION SYST INC, CANON INFORMATION SYSTEMS, INC.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: G06F3
IPC codes: G06F3, G06F17, G10L13