Image processing device and program

Abstract

To surely convey, by voice, an important event immediately after occurrence thereof.SOLUTION: An image processing device includes: an audio assistance unit that reads out to assist a visually impaired; and a system management unit that notifies the audio assistance unit of a request to read out an event that has occurred in a system to be managed. Therein, the event the system management unit notifies the audio assistance unit has a readout attribute indicating whether or not to stop other readouts and read out, and the audio assisting unit suspends the message being read out by the audio assisting unit and preferentially reads the message according to the readout attribute of the event.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image processing device and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, voice reading assistance technology for MFPs (Multifunction Peripherals / Printers / Products), a type of image forming device, has addressed the issue of voices being inaudible due to the operating noise of the MFP by suppressing operation while speaking to make the voices easier to hear.

[0003] Furthermore, some of the conventional voice reading assistance technologies for MFPs change the volume or speed of important notifications to make them clear that they are important. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, according to the conventional technology, when an event occurs not due to an instruction from the operator but due to the operation of the MFP (such as a screen reset due to clocking, a transition to power saving mode, or the occurrence of a jam) during voice reading in the MFP, no consideration is given to giving priority to and effectively communicating the event due to the operation of the MFP by voice.As a result, when an operator relies on voice to operate the MFP, there is a problem in that when a highly urgent event occurs, the voice notification is not given immediately, even though it is an emergency.

[0005] According to the prior art, if the voice assistance does not take into account events due to MFP operation, it will sequentially utter voice guidance associated with the MFP operation by the operator, so for example, even if the screen switches to a jam occurrence screen indicating that a jam has occurred, it will only utter a voice about the jam after finishing reading the guidance that has not yet been read out. Also, when switching to energy saving mode, for example, the voice assistance will switch to energy saving mode before the voice notification of the switch to energy saving mode has been given, because other voice guidance is still being read out.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has as its object to instantly and reliably notify an important event by voice when the event occurs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a voice assistant unit that reads out a voice to assist the visually impaired, and a system management unit that notifies the voice assistant unit of a request to read out an event that has occurred in a system to be managed, and the event notified from the system management unit to the voice assistant unit includes a read-out attribute that determines whether to stop other read-outs and read out the event. , and priority attributes and the voice assistant unit stops a message being spoken by the voice assistant unit and reads it out preferentially according to a readout attribute of the event. In addition, even if the event of a read-out request has a read-out attribute that stops other read-outs and reads aloud, if the priority of the message currently being read out is higher, the read-out request event will be read out after the message currently being read out. It is characterized by: [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, when an important event occurs, the important event can be immediately and reliably notified by voice. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an MFP according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a module configuration related to the voice assist function of the operation unit. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of voice assistance based on user operations. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of voice assistance due to an event in the system management unit. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the reading process in the voice assistance unit that has received a reading request. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the reading process in the voice assistance unit that receives a reading request according to the second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of the reading process in the voice assistance unit that receives a reading request according to the third embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of the process of reading out stored messages. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] An embodiment of an image processing device and a program will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiment shown below, an example in which the image processing device of the present invention is applied to a multifunction peripheral having at least two of a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function will be described.

[0011] (First embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an MFP 1 according to a first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the MFP (Multifunction Peripheral / Printer / Product) 1, which is a multifunction peripheral, includes a main body 10 capable of implementing various functions such as a copy function, a scanner function, a fax function, and a printer function, and an operation unit 20 that accepts user operations. Note that accepting user operations includes the concept of accepting information (including signals indicating screen coordinate values) input in response to the user operations. The main body 10 and the operation unit 20 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a dedicated communication path 300. The communication path 300 may be, for example, one conforming to the USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard, but may be any standard, whether wired or wireless.

[0012] The main body 10 can perform operations in accordance with operations received by the operation unit 20. The main body 10 can also communicate with external devices such as client PCs (personal computers), and can perform operations in accordance with instructions received from the external devices.

[0013] First, the hardware configuration of the main body 10 will be described. As shown in Fig. 1, the main body 10 includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, an HDD (hard disk drive) 14, a communication I / F (interface) 15, a connection I / F 16, and an engine unit 17. The CPU 11, the ROM 12, the RAM 13, the HDD (hard disk drive) 14, the communication I / F (interface) 15, the connection I / F 16, and the engine unit 17 are interconnected via a system bus 18.

[0014] The CPU 11 comprehensively controls the operation of the main body 10. The CPU 11 executes programs stored in the ROM 12 or the HDD 14, etc., using the RAM 13 as a work area, thereby controlling the operation of the entire main body 10 and realizing various functions such as the copy function, scanner function, fax function, and printer function described above.

[0015] The communication I / F 15 is an interface for connecting to the network 30. The connection I / F 16 is an interface for communicating with the operation unit 20 via the communication path 300.

[0016] The engine unit 17 is hardware that performs general-purpose information processing and processing other than communication in order to realize the copy function, scanner function, fax function, and printer function. The engine unit 17 includes, for example, a scanner (image reading unit) that scans and reads images of documents, a plotter (image forming unit) that prints on sheet materials such as paper, and a fax unit that performs fax communication. Furthermore, the engine unit 17 may also include specific options such as a finisher that sorts printed sheet materials and an ADF (automatic document feeder) that automatically feeds documents.

[0017] Next, a description will be given of the hardware configuration of the operation unit 20. As shown in Fig. 1, the operation unit 20 includes a CPU 21, a ROM 22, a RAM 23, a flash memory 24, a communication I / F 25, a connection I / F 26, an operation panel 27, and an external connection I / F 28. The CPU 21, the ROM 22, the RAM 23, the flash memory 24, the communication I / F 25, the connection I / F 26, the operation panel 27, and the external connection I / F 28 are interconnected via a system bus 29.

[0018] The CPU 21 comprehensively controls the operation of the operation unit 20. The CPU 21 executes programs stored in the ROM 22, flash memory 24, or the like using the RAM 23 as a work area, thereby controlling the operation of the entire operation unit 20 and realizing various functions, which will be described later, such as displaying information (images) according to input received from a user.

[0019] The communication I / F 25 is an interface for connecting to the network 30. The connection I / F 26 is an interface for communicating with the main body 10 via the communication path 300.

[0020] Operation panel 27 accepts various inputs in response to user operations and displays various information (for example, information in response to the accepted operations, information indicating the operating status of MFP1, information indicating the setting state, etc.). In this example, operation panel 27 is configured as a liquid crystal display (LCD) equipped with a touch panel function, but is not limited to this. For example, operation panel 27 may be configured as an organic EL display equipped with a touch panel function. Furthermore, in addition to or instead of this, operation units such as hardware keys and display units such as lamps may also be provided.

[0021] The external connection I / F 28 is an interface for connecting to the IC card reader 3 described above.

[0022] The program executed by the operation unit 20 of the MFP1 of this embodiment is provided as a file in an installable or executable format recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).

[0023] The program executed by operation unit 20 of MFP1 of this embodiment may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network.The program executed by operation unit 20 of MFP1 of this embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0024] Furthermore, the program executed by operation unit 20 of MFP 1 of this embodiment may be provided by being pre-installed in ROM or the like.

[0025] Next, the voice assist function executed by the operation unit 20 of the MFP 1 will be described.

[0026] 2 is a block diagram showing a module configuration related to the voice assistance function of operation unit 20. As shown in Fig. 2, the program executed by operation unit 20 of MFP1 of this embodiment has a modular configuration including each unit (UI (User Interface) display unit 211, voice assistance unit 212, system management unit 213), and in actual hardware, CPU 21 reads and executes the program from ROM 22, flash memory 24, etc., whereby each of the above units is loaded onto RAM 23, and UI display unit 211, voice assistance unit 212, and system management unit 213 are generated on RAM 23.

[0027] Applications A and B are applications that have a UI (User Interface), and display the UI by issuing an instruction to the UI display unit 211. Application XX is an example of an application that does not have a UI.

[0028] The voice assistance unit 212 has a function of reading out voices to assist the visually impaired.

[0029] The UI display unit 211 receives an instruction from an application and displays an image on the UI. The UI display unit 211 also notifies the voice assistance unit 212 of character string information in order to read out the character string displayed on the UI.

[0030] The system management unit 213 is a module that manages the operation unit 20, which is a system to be managed. The system management unit 213 issues instructions to the UI display unit 211 when a UI display is required, such as displaying a necessary warning screen. The system management unit 213 also notifies the voice assistance unit 212 of event information in order to vocalize events managed by the operation unit 20. Here, an event is an event that occurs unrelated to a user operation on the UI display unit 211, such as a screen reset due to timing, a transition to power saving mode, or the occurrence of a jam, which occurs in the main body 10 or operation unit 20 of the MFP 1.

[0031] Here, the flow of audio assistance will be described.

[0032] Fig. 3 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of voice assistance in response to a user operation. The example shown in Fig. 3 is an example in which a character string of screen information displayed in accordance with a user operation is read aloud with voice assistance. As shown in Fig. 3, when a user operates the UI of application A, the UI display unit 211 notifies the UI application A of the operation content (step S11). Upon receiving the operation content, the UI application A reflects the operation content in the UI (step S2).

[0033] Simultaneously with step S1, the UI display unit 211 also notifies the voice assistance unit 212 of a request for voice reading (step S3).

[0034] Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of voice assistance due to an event of system management unit 213. The example shown in Fig. 4 is an example of a case where an event of MFP1 that occurs regardless of user operation is read out loud. As shown in Fig. 4, when there is a UI display related to the event, such as displaying a necessary warning screen, system management unit 213 requests UI display unit 211 (step S4).

[0035] Furthermore, if the event requires voice assistance, the system management unit 213 requests the voice assistance unit 212 to read out the event (step S5). Table 1 below shows examples of events that the system management unit 213 notifies the voice assistance unit 212 of.

[0036] [Table 1]

[0037] As shown in Table 1, the events that the system management unit 213 notifies the audio assistance unit 212 of have an attribute of "whether to stop other reading and read aloud" depending on the characteristics of the event, unlike normal reading requests from the UI display unit 211.

[0038] Next, the reading process in the auxiliary voice unit 212 that receives the reading request will be described.

[0039] 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the read-out process in the voice assistance unit 212 that has received a read-out request. As shown in FIG. 5, the voice assistance unit 212 determines whether or not there is a message being read out (step S11).

[0040] If there is no message being read out (No in step S11), the audio assistance unit 212 reads out the message (step S12).

[0041] On the other hand, if there is a message currently being read out (Yes in step S11), the voice assistance unit 212 determines whether the request is for reading out an event from the system management unit 213 (step S13).

[0042] If the request is a normal read-out request from the UI display unit 211 (No in step S13), the voice assistance unit 212 stores the message as a message to be read out sequentially (step S14), and reads it out after the message currently being read out (step S15).

[0043] On the other hand, if the request is for reading out an event from the system management unit 213 (Yes in step S13), the voice assistance unit 212 determines whether the message is for stopping the current reading out, according to the attributes shown in Table 1 (step S16).

[0044] The voice assistant unit 212 stops the message being read aloud (step S17) and immediately starts reading aloud (step S12) when a message such as a jam or a serious error is given the highest priority and is set to "stop current reading" (Yes in step S16).

[0045] On the other hand, if the message is not one for which reading out should be stopped (No in step S16), the voice assistance unit 212 stores the message as the next message to be read out (step S14).

[0046] According to this embodiment, messages with high urgency are read out preferentially by halting the current reading, so that the operator can immediately and reliably receive the reading of important messages. Therefore, when an important event occurs, the event can be immediately and reliably communicated by voice.

[0047] That is, according to this embodiment, only messages generated by interrupts that are considered to be of high urgency can be targeted. Also, since a problem occurring in the main body 10 or the operation unit 20 of the MFP 1 is likely to make it impossible for the user to continue operation, such messages can be given priority in notification.

[0048] (Second embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described.

[0049] The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that it is configured to read out first according to priority. In the following description of the second embodiment, the same parts as in the first embodiment will be omitted, and only the parts that are different from the first embodiment will be described.

[0050] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the reading process in the voice assistance unit 212 that receives a reading request according to the second embodiment.

[0051] Table 2 below shows examples of events that the system management unit 213 notifies the audio assistance unit 212 of.

[0052] [Table 2]

[0053] As shown in Table 2, the events notified to the audio assistance unit 212 by the system management unit 213 differ from normal readout requests from the UI display unit 211 in that, depending on the characteristics of the event, they have a priority attribute in addition to the attribute of "whether to stop other readouts and read out."

[0054] Here, a description will be given of the flow of processing shown in Fig. 6. Note that steps S11 to S15 shown in Fig. 6 are the same as steps S11 to S15 described in Fig. 5, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0055] The voice assistant unit 212 determines whether the message that should be communicated to the currently operating user with the highest priority, such as a jam or a serious error, has the attribute "stop current reading" (Yes in step S16), and therefore determines whether it has a higher priority than the message being read (step S21).

[0056] The voice assistant unit 212 cannot cancel the message currently being read out if the message has a higher priority than the event being processed this time, so if the message has a lower priority than the message being read out (No in step S21), it stores it as a message to be read out sequentially (step S14).

[0057] On the other hand, if the message has a higher priority than the message being read out (Yes in step S21), the voice assistance unit 212 stops the message being read out (step S17) and immediately starts reading out (step S12).

[0058] As described above, according to this embodiment, messages with high urgency are read aloud preferentially by halting the currently being spoken message according to the priority of the message, so that the operator can immediately and reliably receive the spoken message of an important message, and when an important event occurs, the event can be immediately and reliably notified by voice. In other words, a more appropriate decision to halt reading can be made according to the priority of each message and the current speaking situation.

[0059] (Third embodiment) Next, a third embodiment will be described.

[0060] The third embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in that, if a read-out request event has a lower priority than the message currently being read out, the read-out request event is accumulated and, after the currently being read out message has been read out, the event is retrieved in descending order of priority and read out. In the following description of the third embodiment, the same parts as those of the first and second embodiments will be omitted, and only the parts that differ from the first and second embodiments will be described.

[0061] 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of the reading process in the auxiliary voice unit 212 that has received a reading request according to the third embodiment. Note that steps S11 to S13, S16, and S21 shown in Fig. 7 are the same as the processes in steps S11 to S13, S16, and S21 described in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0062] If the message currently being read out has a higher priority than the event being processed this time, the voice assistant unit 212 cannot stop the message being read out. Therefore, if the message has a lower priority than the message being read out (No in step S21), the voice assistant unit 212 does not stop the message currently being read out, but instead stores the next message to be read out in order of priority (step S31). Next, the voice assistant unit 212 retrieves the stored messages in order of priority and reads them out (step S32).

[0063] On the other hand, if the message has a higher priority than the message being read out (Yes in step S21), the voice assistance unit 212 stops the message being read out (step S17) and stores the message being read out in the messages to be read out (step S33). Next, the voice assistance unit 212 immediately reads out the new message (step S12).

[0064] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the process of reading out messages in descending order of priority in step S32.

[0065] 8, if there are stored messages (Yes in step S41), the auxiliary voice unit 212 extracts the message with the highest priority (step S42). Then, the auxiliary voice unit 212 reads out the extracted message (step S43). The auxiliary voice unit 212 repeats the processes of steps S42 to S43 until there are no stored messages (No in step S41).

[0066] Thus, according to this embodiment, if the message currently being read out has a higher priority than the event being processed, it is temporarily stored, and the stored messages are then extracted in descending order of priority and read out, thereby making it possible to make a more appropriate decision to stop reading out depending on the current speech situation.

[0067] In the above embodiment, the image processing device of the present invention is described as being applied to a multifunction device having at least two of the functions of a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function, but it can be applied to any image forming device such as a copier, printer, scanner device, or facsimile device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 1. Image processing device 212 Audio auxiliary unit 213 System Management Department [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0069] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-155269 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-068026

Claims

1. an audio assistance unit that reads out audio to assist people with visual impairments; a system management unit that notifies the voice assistance unit of a request to read out an event that has occurred in a system to be managed; Equipped with The event notified from the system management unit to the voice assistance unit has a reading attribute indicating whether to stop other readings and read aloud, and a priority attribute, the voice assistant unit stops a message being spoken by the voice assistant unit and reads it out preferentially according to the readout attribute of the event, and even if the readout request event has a readout attribute that stops other readouts and reads it out, if the message currently being read out has a higher priority, the readout request event is read out after the message currently being read out.

1. An image processing device comprising:

2. A voice assistant unit that reads out a voice to assist people with visual impairments; a system management unit that notifies the voice assistance unit of a request to read out an event that has occurred in a system to be managed; Equipped with The event notified from the system management unit to the voice assistance unit has a reading attribute indicating whether to stop other readings and read aloud, and a priority attribute, the voice assistant unit stops the message being spoken by the voice assistant unit and reads it out preferentially according to the readout attribute of the event, and if the readout request event has a readout attribute of stopping other readouts and reading it out, and has a lower priority than the message currently being read out, the voice assistant unit stores the readout request event, and after reading out the message currently being read out, retrieves and reads it in descending order of priority.

1. An image processing device comprising:

3. The event is an event that occurs independently of a user operation.

3. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the image processing device is a computer.

4. The event is an event that occurs in the image processing device.

4. The image processing device according to claim 3.

5. Computer, an audio assistance unit that reads out audio to assist people with visual impairments; a system management unit that notifies the voice assistance unit of a request to read out an event that has occurred in a system to be managed; It functions as The event notified from the system management unit to the voice assistance unit has a reading attribute indicating whether to stop other readings and read aloud, and a priority attribute, the voice assistant unit stops a message being spoken by the voice assistant unit and reads it out preferentially according to the readout attribute of the event, and even if the readout request event has a readout attribute that stops other readouts and reads it out, if the message currently being read out has a higher priority, the readout request event is read out after the message currently being read out. Program for.

6. A computer, an audio assistance unit that reads out audio to assist people with visual impairments; a system management unit that notifies the voice assistance unit of a request to read out an event that has occurred in a system to be managed; It functions as The event notified from the system management unit to the voice assistance unit has a reading attribute indicating whether to stop other readings and read aloud, and a priority attribute, the voice assistant unit stops the message being spoken by the voice assistant unit and reads it out preferentially according to the readout attribute of the event, and if the readout request event has a readout attribute of stopping other readouts and reading it out, and has a lower priority than the message currently being read out, the voice assistant unit stores the readout request event, and after reading out the message currently being read out, retrieves and reads it in descending order of priority. Program for.

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