JP2005062684A - Voice guidance device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enables a person who requires detailed voice information to obtain the voice information while avoiding making the majority of people feel the information to be noise on the assumption that a user has neither a specific receiver nor transmitter, as to a voice guidance device suitably help a visually disabled person to act. <P>SOLUTION: This device is provided with a storage means 15 for 1st voice information, a storage means 16 for 2nd voice information, a detection sensor 4 which detects a human body or a specific person's thing, an operation switch 3, and voice reproducing means 11 and 12 for reproducing the 1st information in response to the detection sensor of the detection sensor and also reproducing the voice information in response to the operation signal of the operation switch. The 1st voice information includes information regarding an operation for reproducing the 2nd voice information. When a person approaches, a short 1st voice guidance is reproduced, and when detailed information is needed, an operation is done according to an operating method included in the 1st voice information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a voice guidance device suitable for assisting the behavior of a visually impaired person, and particularly to a voice guidance device suitable for explaining how to use various facilities such as a toilet and an elevator.

  With the advancement of technology to make life comfortable and the demand for reducing various service costs, for example, various functions are added to toilets installed in toilets, and tickets and meal tickets are sold by vending machines. These facilities require the user to perform operations specific to each facility. The operation requested by the user is transmitted to the user by information such as graphics and characters displayed on the display provided in the equipment and the characters and graphics written on the operation buttons. Various ingenuities and considerations have been made so that the user can intuitively understand the characters.

  However, visually impaired people cannot recognize these characters and figures, and it is very difficult to find the displayed part, so the use of multifunctional equipment and automated equipment It is accompanied by a great deal of difficulty and the use itself is impossible.

On the other hand, there is a voice guidance device as information transmission means that can be used even by visually impaired persons. However, audio information is always transmitted like visual information because it is difficult to distinguish and identify audio information if a large number of information is duplicated even if the source is different. Can not. Therefore, conventionally, voice information is transmitted only to those who have a receiver tuned to a specific frequency, or voice information is transmitted in response to a specific transmitter owned by the user. In this way, information is selectively transmitted to those who need it, while avoiding the mere noise caused by overlapping audio information, or unnecessary audio for the majority of people. The device is made to be done.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-110319

  However, in the conventional method described above, if you do not have a receiver that is set to receive radio waves of a specific frequency or a transmitter that transmits a specific signal, you will not be able to hear voice guidance. A visually impaired person who does not have such devices falls into a state where there is no information at all. For example, in a toilet or elevator in a public building or a building used by a large number of unspecified people, if they cannot get information on how to use the toilet or how to operate the elevator, they will assist in a confined room It becomes a situation that it is not possible to use those facilities.

  In such a case, it may be possible to always send voice guidance, but for those who know the operation method and the majority of people who can easily obtain the operation method by visual information, the voice information that always flows Will be an unpleasant noise. Especially when trying to explain the detailed usage of equipment to the handicapped person, the guidance will be long, even if the human sensor detects the approach of the person and audio information flows only at that time, the person approaches It is unavoidable that long voice information flows every time, resulting in noise.

  The present invention is based on the premise that the user does not have a specific receiver or transmitter, and even in such a case, it is necessary to avoid noise as much as possible for the majority of people. It is an object of the present invention to provide a voice guidance device capable of obtaining detailed voice information for a person.

  The present invention includes a first voice information storage means 15, a second voice information storage means 16, a detection sensor 4 for detecting a human body or a specific possession of a person, an operation switch 3, and detection of the detection sensor. Sound reproduction means 11 and 12 for reproducing the first audio information by the signal and reproducing the second audio information by the operation signal of the operation switch, wherein the first audio information is an operation for reproducing the second audio information. The above-mentioned problem is solved by providing a voice guidance device that includes information about the above.

  In addition, when the above-mentioned device is provided with recording means for the first voice information and the second voice information, when there is a change in the installation location or the type of equipment installed, There is an advantage that the contents of the voice information uttered in response to the change can be individually registered or changed.

  In the voice guidance device according to the present invention, in particular, provided with a human body sensor, when the person approaches, a short first voice guidance flows, and the second voice information is not reproduced unless detailed information needs to be heard. The person who needs detailed information can obtain necessary information by operating an operation switch such as a push button in accordance with the operation method included in the first audio information.

  In addition, if a sensor for detecting a cane, a certification card or the like that a visually handicapped person generally possesses is provided instead of the human body sensor, the first voice information is also provided to the majority of people who do not possess them. Since it is not transmitted, useless reproduction of audio information can be avoided more reliably. However, in this case, if a visually impaired person does not have such a cane or certification card, no information will be given. It is necessary to determine what kind of sensor is provided in consideration of the possibility of use by visually impaired persons who do not. The cane and the certification card can be made to detect a sensor by embedding a transmitter using an electromagnetic wave received by a coil as an energy source.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 are views showing an example of the external appearance of the apparatus. FIG. 1 is a front view, FIG. 2 is a right side view, FIG. 3 is a rear view, FIG. 4 is a plan view, and FIG. In the figure, 1 is an operation lamp, 2 is a microphone / speaker, 3 is a playback button, and 4 is a human body sensor. On the surface of the playback button 3, that effect is displayed in Braille 8. The reproduction apparatus 10 is structured to be attached to a wall surface with a wood screw or the like inserted through an attachment hole on the back surface of the case. Note that the recording button 5 and the auto / manual selection switch 6 shown in FIG. 2 are used only at the time of setting and are troubled when touched by illusion, so they are provided in the case. When operation is necessary, remove the front panel of the case and perform the setting operation.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the internal structure of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, which incorporates an audio recording / playback LSI 11, a control CPU 12, an amplifier 13, and a power supply circuit 14. The CPU 12 receives signals from the recording button 5, the playback button 3, the human body detection sensor 4, and the auto / manual selection switch 6, and the CPU 12 operates the recording / playback LSI 11 based on signals from these input devices. Is controlling. The operation lamp 1 is connected to the CPU 12, and an operation state such as recording or reproduction is displayed by lighting, turning off, blinking, or the like.

  The recording / reproducing LSI 11 is provided with a first memory area 15 for storing first audio information for automatic reproduction and a second memory area 16 for storing second audio information for manual reproduction. By the control based on the signals of the button 5 and the auto / manual selection switch 6, the input signal of the microphone 2a is recorded in the first or second memory area 15 or 16.

  A speaker 2 b is connected to the recording / reproducing LSI 11 via an amplifier circuit 13 including a volume control volume. When the detection output of the human body detection sensor 4 is given to the CPU 12, the CPU 12 records in the first memory area 15. The sound information recorded is output, and when the operation signal of the playback button 3 is input, the sound information recorded in the second memory area 16 is output.

  The power supply circuit 14 is an AC / DC converter in the figure and uses a commercial power supply of AC 100 volts, but can also be battery driven.

  FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating the installation mode of the apparatus 10 of FIGS. 1 to 5 taking a public toilet as an example. In the figure, 21 is a person's passage space, 22 is an entrance space to the toilet, 23 is for men, 24 is for women, and 25 is a wall. Reference numeral 26 denotes a male urinal, and 27 a toilet (a space surrounded by a partition wall and a door) provided with a toilet 28.

  In the toilet shown in the figure, a utterance device 20 showing how to use the toilet 28 is attached to some of the toilets 27. The utterance device 20 is a device for explaining how to use the toilet 28 by voice. By touching the utterance device 20, for example, “a Western-style toilet is installed in a state of sitting on the door about 1 m from the door. The buttons are arranged on the right side, and stop, wash, bidet, and dry from the front side, the toilet paper holder is attached to the right wall, and the flush sensor is at the elbow level on the left wall near the door. The voice information with the content “It is provided” is uttered. Therefore, the toilet provided with the utterance device 20 is very convenient for the visually impaired.

  The voice guidance device 10 according to the present invention is attached to the wall surface of the entrance space, and the first voice information is reproduced when a person enters the detection distance. For example, “This is a toilet. The entrance on the right is for women and the entrance on the left is for men. You can hear more detailed explanations by pressing the button in the center of the front of this device. " The second audio information may be, for example, “Women's toilet goes to the right from here and has a hand-washing at the end, and when it goes 90 degrees left, it has 4 toilets on the right and 3 toilets on the left. The two toilets on the right-hand side have voice guidance devices near the handle of the door on the inner wall, and the men's toilet has a hand wash at the end of the bump From there, four urinals on the left and three urinals on the right are arranged 90 degrees to the right, and voice guidance is provided near the handle on the inner wall door on the farthest right side. The device is installed. When you touch the voice guidance device, you can hear the explanation of how to use the toilet. ”

  Therefore, when a visually handicapped person who is looking for a toilet approaches the entrance of the toilet, voice information indicating that this is a toilet flows, and means for obtaining more detailed information can be understood. Therefore, if necessary, the visually impaired person can use the toilet smoothly by operating the playback button 3 of the voice guidance device 10 and the utterance device 20 in the toilet.

  In the above example, the human body detection sensor is used as the sensor that generates the first audio information, but other types of sensors such as an infrared sensor and a radio wave sensor can be used as necessary. In addition, in the embodiment of FIG. 7, the utterance device 20 for explaining how to use the toilet 28 is provided in the toilet separately from the voice guidance device 20 of the present invention. By including it in the second voice information of the voice guidance device 10 of the present invention, it is possible to adopt a form in which the utterance device 20 of the toilet is not provided.

  As mentioned above, although the example at the time of installing the voice guidance apparatus of this invention in the toilet was described, voice information corresponding to the said equipment should be recorded and used for vending machines, such as an elevator and a ticket, and other facilities. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a voice guidance device that can appropriately transmit necessary information to a necessary person while avoiding noise generation due to unnecessary voice.

Front view showing an example of the appearance of the voice guidance device Right side view of the device of FIG. Rear view of the device of FIG. Plan view of the apparatus of FIG. Bottom view of the device of FIG. Block diagram of the device of FIG. Schematic plan view showing an example of installation mode

Explanation of symbols

3 Operation switch 4 Detection sensor
11 Recording / playback LSI
12 CPU for control
15 First memory area
16 Second memory area

Claims (3)

  A first voice information storage means (15), a second voice information storage means (16), a detection sensor (4) for detecting a human body or a specific possession of a person, an operation switch (3), A voice guidance device comprising voice playback means (11, 12) for playing back the first voice information by the detection signal of the detection sensor and playing back the second voice information by the operation signal of the operation switch.   The voice guidance device according to claim 1, wherein the first voice information includes information about an operation of reproducing the second voice information. The voice guidance device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising recording means for first voice information and second voice information.

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