EP0738994A1 - Traffic information apparatus with a message store and a vocal synthesis generator - Google Patents

Traffic information apparatus with a message store and a vocal synthesis generator Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0738994A1
EP0738994A1 EP96200938A EP96200938A EP0738994A1 EP 0738994 A1 EP0738994 A1 EP 0738994A1 EP 96200938 A EP96200938 A EP 96200938A EP 96200938 A EP96200938 A EP 96200938A EP 0738994 A1 EP0738994 A1 EP 0738994A1
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European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
vocabulary
memory
elements
names
pronunciation
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Granted
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EP96200938A
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German (de)
French (fr)
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EP0738994B1 (en
Inventor
Jean-Marc Patillot
Bernard De Vergnette
Donald Zeegers
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Mannesmann VDO AG
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Philips Electronique Gran Public
Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV
Philips Electronics NV
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
    • G08G1/00—Traffic control systems for road vehicles
    • G08G1/123—Traffic control systems for road vehicles indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, trams
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10L—SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING
    • G10L13/00—Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
    • G08G1/00—Traffic control systems for road vehicles
    • G08G1/09—Arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions
    • G08G1/091—Traffic information broadcasting
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
    • G08G1/00—Traffic control systems for road vehicles
    • G08G1/09—Arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions
    • G08G1/0962—Arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
    • G08G1/0968—Systems involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle
    • G08G1/0969—Systems involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle having a display in the form of a map

Definitions

  • Such a device is for example a car radio receiver intended to receive and exploit so-called RDS / TMC signals, or else a route guidance device, also called a navigation device. It can deliver information messages on traffic or intended for guiding a vehicle by entering the messages on a screen and / or delivering them by text-to-speech.
  • the present invention also relates to a module for generating traffic information messages comprising or being associated with a vocabulary memory, and provided with means for reading therein digital data which constitute the description of vocabulary elements, each of the element descriptions. vocabulary addressable from a code number designating a vocabulary element.
  • the present invention also relates to a portable card intended for use in a message generation apparatus, provided with a vocabulary memory containing descriptions of vocabulary elements, in which each of the descriptions of vocabulary elements is addressable from a code number designating a vocabulary element, the memory containing for each of the vocabulary elements numerical data which describe this vocabulary element.
  • a speech synthesis generator is known from document EP-A-0 059 880.
  • the definition of a word is supplied in the form of ASCII characters entered sequentially, and a microcontroller interrogates a ROM memory containing pronunciation rules, to find there how to pronounce a given character set.
  • a problem arises from the fact that, in certain languages, several different pronunciation rules apply depending on the words. For example in English, the characters “gh” are not pronounced the same way in "rough” and in "ghost".
  • the speech synthesis generator according to this document uses a complex set of rules which must take into account a large number of different situations, and which is different depending on the language (English, German, French, etc.).
  • An object of the invention is to simplify the generation of phonemes, and to reduce the memory required.
  • the invention is therefore based on the remark that, in a messaging system intended for the automobile, the number of words required is much lower than the number of words in everyday language and that, therefore, although the addition of numerical data which define the pronunciation practically lead to doubling the size of the memory of vocabulary elements, this is not annoying whereas it would be prohibitive in the case of a universal speech synthesis generator. What is gained in memory by removing the complex rule set is more important than increasing the size of the vocabulary memory in the application considered here.
  • the memory advantageously contains names of location points with both the alphanumeric characters of these names and a sequence of digital data which defines their pronunciation.
  • the vocabulary memory is contained in a removable card.
  • the removable card contains in particular the data concerning names of location points.
  • the map format can be standardized and the device is then easily adaptable to different countries, by simply changing the map.
  • the memory advantageously contains names of location points with both the alphanumeric characters of these names and a sequence of digital data which defines their pronunciation, and the part of the memory which contains names of location points is installed in a removable card.
  • a module for generating traffic information messages according to the invention is remarkable in that it is provided with means for reading from the memory, for at least some of the vocabulary elements, on the one hand the alphanumeric characters of this element of vocabulary, and on the other hand a sequence of numerical data which defines the pronunciation of this element of vocabulary.
  • the module is provided with means for reading from the memory, in particular names of location points with both the alphanumeric characters of these names and a sequence of digital data which defines their pronunciation.
  • a removable card according to the invention intended to be used in a message generation device, is remarkable in that its memory contains, for at least some of the vocabulary elements, both the alphanumeric characters of this vocabulary element and a sequence of numerical data which defines the pronunciation of this vocabulary element. Its memory contains in particular names of location points with both the alphanumeric characters of these names and a sequence of numerical data which defines their pronunciation.
  • FIG. 1 schematically represents a car radio receiver equipped with the invention.
  • FIG. 2 shows in more detail the part concerned by the invention, and its connections with the rest of the apparatus.
  • the receiver of FIG. 1 comprises, from an antenna 1, a device 2 ("tuner") containing a tuning circuit and a frequency change circuit, followed by a device 3 containing an amplifier at intermediate frequency and a receiver.
  • a device 2 containing a tuning circuit and a frequency change circuit
  • a device 3 containing an amplifier at intermediate frequency and a receiver.
  • an FM subcarrier is modulated by digital signals of data, useful for receiving different transmitters of the same channel.
  • the receiver includes a decoder 13 for RDS messages.
  • TMC Traffic Message Channel
  • traffic information messages are incorporated into certain digital fields of RDS signals, for example:” traffic jam three km before entering Paris ".
  • the receiver To process the TMC messages, the receiver includes a module 14, to which the RDS data of the decoder 13 is brought by a bus 21, to be analyzed and possibly stored. To enable messages to be delivered in voice form, this module 14 is also connected to an audio amplifier system 4 followed by a loudspeaker 5. It is also connected to an input / output interface device 18 connected to a keyboard. control 12 and a display screen 10, for example with liquid crystal.
  • each of the fields must be treated in order to clearly express what it is about.
  • a permanent memory in which clear information is stored (in the form for example of the ASCII codes of the characters of a message to be displayed), at addresses corresponding to the different possible contents of each field, which makes it possible to find the information to from the content of a field.
  • the 1 st field (describing an event), which has 11 bits, is associated with a memory which can contain in plain text 2048 vocabulary elements (i.e. 2 11 vocabulary elements), each being found at the address defined by the content of the field.
  • vocabulary elements say for example "traffic jam", “work”, “accident”, etc.
  • the 2 nd field (describing a location), which comprises 16 bits, is associated with a memory, known as the location point memory, which can contain in the clear up to 65,536 vocabulary elements (i.e. 2 16 vocabulary elements) which include complete data on in particular localization names, their type, the region to which they belong, the next and previous points, etc., each vocabulary element being in principle found at an address designated by the content of the field.
  • These vocabulary elements are for example "Paris”, or "Lille”, or "the exit 21", etc.
  • 65,536 elements are defined, to be chosen according to the application. The country concerned is indicated in a so-called PI code of RDS data, and the reference of the chosen database is indicated in a "system message" which is sent from time to time by each RDS / TMC transmitter.
  • extension is meant the fact that the event considered extends for example to the following location.
  • a bit O means for example "direction Paris ⁇ Lille", while a bit 1 would mean “direction Lille ⁇ Paris” (it is the content of field 2 which indicates that we are on a link between Paris and Lille, but the direction is not indicated there).
  • the microcontroller 7 selects and prepares digital data, for example a series of codes each designating a phoneme, allowing a speech synthesis module 20 known per se, to generate the phonemes in the form of analog signals delivered to the audio amplifier. 4 followed by speaker 5.
  • a phoneme is a sound unit of a language.
  • the document EP-A-0 059 880 teaches that in English there are 40 phonemes, but advises to use 127 "allophones", which are subsets of the phonemes, modified by their environment, which gives a more specifies sounds. Depending on the level of quality sought, the number of phonemes can therefore vary. Again, the number of different descriptions of phonemes is not very large, in general it is of the order of a few tens, defined in advance as "standard phonemes”.
  • the microcontroller 7 When a TMC message arrives, the microcontroller 7 receives the contents of the fields from the RDS decoder 13, and writes them to memory 9. For display on the screen 10 and / or the voice transmission of this message , the microcontroller 7 extracts from memory 9 at least the contents of fields 1, 3, 4 which it interprets in a known manner, inter alia by reading in memory 8 the constituents of the message to be produced to announce the corresponding event, under the form for example of codes describing the corresponding statements. Then the microcontroller extracts from memory 9 the 2 nd field, it deduces therefrom an address in memory 23 by means of which it reads from this memory on the one hand the spelling of the corresponding location name and on the other hand the phonemes the constituent. It inserts the spelling at the appropriate places in the message to be displayed to announce the event, and the phonemes at the suitable places in the sequence of the phoneme codes which it supplies to the generator 20.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Computational Linguistics (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Audiology, Speech & Language Pathology (AREA)
  • Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Radar, Positioning & Navigation (AREA)
  • Remote Sensing (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Circuits Of Receivers In General (AREA)
  • Traffic Control Systems (AREA)
  • Navigation (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)
  • Arrangements For Transmission Of Measured Signals (AREA)
  • Machine Translation (AREA)
  • Controls And Circuits For Display Device (AREA)

Abstract

The information appts. is channelled to a module (14) which is controlled by a microprocessor (7). Temporary data is stored in a random access memory (9) and a permanent memory (8) stores vocabulary elements including a removable card (23) containing locations in a particular country. The vocabulary elements in ASCII characters are addressable by code and associated with numerical data which defines their pronunciation. The numerical data is presented to a voice synthesiser (20) which produces speech through an audio amplifier (4) and loudspeaker (5). The vocabulary elements are also shown on a display (10).

Description

La présente invention concerne un appareil d'information routière muni

  • d'une mémoire de vocabulaire contenant des descriptions d'éléments de vocabulaire, dans laquelle chacune des descriptions d'éléments de vocabulaire est adressable à partir d'un numéro de code désignant un élément de vocabulaire, la mémoire contenant pour chacun des éléments de vocabulaire des données numériques qui décrivent cet élément de vocabulaire,
  • et d'un générateur de synthèse vocale pour engendrer les phonèmes correspondant à l'énoncé des dits éléments de vocabulaire sous forme vocale.
The present invention relates to a road information device provided
  • a vocabulary memory containing descriptions of vocabulary elements, in which each of the descriptions of vocabulary elements is addressable from a code number designating a vocabulary element, the memory containing for each vocabulary elements digital data that describes this element of vocabulary,
  • and a speech synthesis generator for generating the phonemes corresponding to the statement of said vocabulary elements in vocal form.

Un tel appareil est par exemple un récepteur autoradio destiné à recevoir et exploiter des signaux dits RDS/TMC, ou bien un appareil de guidage routier, dit aussi appareil de navigation. Il peut délivrer des messages d'information sur la circulation ou destinés au guidage d'un véhicule en inscrivant les messages sur un écran et/ou en les délivrant par synthèse vocale.Such a device is for example a car radio receiver intended to receive and exploit so-called RDS / TMC signals, or else a route guidance device, also called a navigation device. It can deliver information messages on traffic or intended for guiding a vehicle by entering the messages on a screen and / or delivering them by text-to-speech.

La présente invention concerne aussi un module générateur de messages d'information routière comportant ou étant associé à une mémoire de vocabulaire, et muni de moyens pour y lire des données numériques qui constituent la description d'éléments de vocabulaire, chacune des descriptions d'éléments de vocabulaire étant adressable à partir d'un numéro de code désignant un élément de vocabulaire.The present invention also relates to a module for generating traffic information messages comprising or being associated with a vocabulary memory, and provided with means for reading therein digital data which constitute the description of vocabulary elements, each of the element descriptions. vocabulary addressable from a code number designating a vocabulary element.

La présente invention concerne encore une carte portative destinée à être utilisée dans un appareil de génération de messages, munie d'une mémoire de vocabulaire contenant des descriptions d'éléments de vocabulaire, dans laquelle chacune des descriptions d'éléments de vocabulaire est adressable à partir d'un numéro de code désignant un élément de vocabulaire, la mémoire contenant pour chacun des éléments de vocabulaire des données numériques qui décrivent cet élément de vocabulaire.The present invention also relates to a portable card intended for use in a message generation apparatus, provided with a vocabulary memory containing descriptions of vocabulary elements, in which each of the descriptions of vocabulary elements is addressable from a code number designating a vocabulary element, the memory containing for each of the vocabulary elements numerical data which describe this vocabulary element.

Un générateur de synthèse vocale est connu du document EP-A-0 059 880. Selon ce document, la définition d'un mot est fournie sous la forme de caractères ASCII entrés séquentiellement, et un microcontrôleur interroge une mémoire ROM contenant des règles de prononciation, pour y trouver comment il faut prononcer un jeu de caractères donné. Un problème se pose du fait que, dans certaines langues, plusieurs règles de prononciation différentes s'appliquent selon les mots. Par exemple en Anglais, les caractères "gh" ne sont pas prononcés de la même façon dans "rough" et dans "ghost". Pour résoudre ce problème, le générateur de synthèse vocale selon ce document utilise un jeu de règles complexe qui doit prendre en compte un grand nombre de situations différentes, et qui est différent selon le langage (Anglais, Allemand, Français, etc).A speech synthesis generator is known from document EP-A-0 059 880. According to this document, the definition of a word is supplied in the form of ASCII characters entered sequentially, and a microcontroller interrogates a ROM memory containing pronunciation rules, to find there how to pronounce a given character set. A problem arises from the fact that, in certain languages, several different pronunciation rules apply depending on the words. For example in English, the characters "gh" are not pronounced the same way in "rough" and in "ghost". To solve this problem, the speech synthesis generator according to this document uses a complex set of rules which must take into account a large number of different situations, and which is different depending on the language (English, German, French, etc.).

Un objet de l'invention est de simplifier la génération des phonèmes, et de diminuer la mémoire nécessaire.An object of the invention is to simplify the generation of phonemes, and to reduce the memory required.

A cet effet, l'appareil d'information routière selon l'invention est remarquable en ce que

  • la mémoire contient, pour au moins certains des éléments de vocabulaire, à la fois les caractères alphanumériques de cet élément de vocabulaire et une séquence de données numériques qui définit la prononciation de cet élément de vocabulaire,
  • et l'appareil comporte des moyens pour lire cette séquence de données numériques dans la mémoire et la fournir au générateur de synthèse vocale.
To this end, the road information device according to the invention is remarkable in that
  • the memory contains, for at least some of the vocabulary elements, both the alphanumeric characters of this vocabulary element and a sequence of digital data which defines the pronunciation of this vocabulary element,
  • and the apparatus comprises means for reading this sequence of digital data in the memory and supplying it to the speech synthesis generator.

Ainsi on peut entre autres supprimer le jeu de règles complexe utilisé dans l'art antérieur.Thus, among other things, it is possible to remove the complex set of rules used in the prior art.

L'invention est donc basée sur la remarque que, dans un système de messagerie destinée à l'automobile, le nombre de mots nécessaires est très inférieur au nombre de mots du langage courant et que, de ce fait, bien que l'adjonction des données numériques qui définissent la prononciation conduisent pratiquement à doubler la taille de la mémoire d'éléments de vocabulaire, cela n'est pas gênant alors que cela serait rédhibitoire dans le cas d'un générateur de synthèse vocale universel. Ce qui est gagné en mémoire en supprimant le jeu de règles complexe est plus important que l'accroissement de taille de la mémoire de vocabulaire, dans l'application envisagée ici.The invention is therefore based on the remark that, in a messaging system intended for the automobile, the number of words required is much lower than the number of words in everyday language and that, therefore, although the addition of numerical data which define the pronunciation practically lead to doubling the size of the memory of vocabulary elements, this is not annoying whereas it would be prohibitive in the case of a universal speech synthesis generator. What is gained in memory by removing the complex rule set is more important than increasing the size of the vocabulary memory in the application considered here.

La mémoire contient avantageusement des noms de points de localisation avec à la fois les caractères alphanumériques de ces noms et une séquence de données numériques qui définit leur prononciation.The memory advantageously contains names of location points with both the alphanumeric characters of these names and a sequence of digital data which defines their pronunciation.

De préférence, au moins une partie de la mémoire de vocabulaire est contenue dans une carte amovible. La carte amovible contient notamment les données concernant des noms de points de localisation.Preferably, at least part of the vocabulary memory is contained in a removable card. The removable card contains in particular the data concerning names of location points.

Du fait que la transcription phonétique des données de prononciation est indépendante du langage, le format de carte peut être standardisé et l'appareil est alors facilement adaptable à des pays différents, en changeant tout simplement de carte.Since the phonetic transcription of the pronunciation data is language independent, the map format can be standardized and the device is then easily adaptable to different countries, by simply changing the map.

C'est en effet particulièrement pour les noms propres que la prononciation est souvent problématique, par exemple le nom de personne "de Broglie" et le nom de lieu "Broglie" en Français se prononcent de façon différente. De ce fait, la mémoire contient avantageusement des noms de points de localisation avec à la fois les caractères alphanumériques de ces noms et une séquence de données numériques qui définit leur prononciation, et la partie de la mémoire qui contient des noms de points de localisation est installée dans une carte amovible.It is indeed particularly for proper names that pronunciation is often problematic, for example the personal name "de Broglie" and the place name "Broglie" in French are pronounced differently. As a result, the memory advantageously contains names of location points with both the alphanumeric characters of these names and a sequence of digital data which defines their pronunciation, and the part of the memory which contains names of location points is installed in a removable card.

Un module générateur de messages d'information routière selon l'invention est remarquable en ce qu'il est muni de moyens pour lire dans la mémoire, pour au moins certains des éléments de vocabulaire, d'une part les caractères alphanumériques de cet élément de vocabulaire, et d'autre part une séquence de données numériques qui définit la prononciation de cet élément de vocabulaire.A module for generating traffic information messages according to the invention is remarkable in that it is provided with means for reading from the memory, for at least some of the vocabulary elements, on the one hand the alphanumeric characters of this element of vocabulary, and on the other hand a sequence of numerical data which defines the pronunciation of this element of vocabulary.

Le module est muni de moyens pour lire dans la mémoire, notamment des noms de points de localisation avec à la fois les caractères alphanumériques de ces noms et une séquence de données numériques qui définit leur prononciation.The module is provided with means for reading from the memory, in particular names of location points with both the alphanumeric characters of these names and a sequence of digital data which defines their pronunciation.

Une carte amovible selon l'invention, destinée à être utilisée dans un appareil de génération de messages, est remarquable en ce que sa mémoire contient, pour au moins certains des éléments de vocabulaire, à la fois les caractères alphanumériques de cet élément de vocabulaire et une séquence de données numériques qui définit la prononciation de cet élément de vocabulaire. Sa mémoire contient notamment des noms de points de localisation avec à la fois les caractères alphanumériques de ces noms et une séquence de données numériques qui définit leur prononciation.A removable card according to the invention, intended to be used in a message generation device, is remarkable in that its memory contains, for at least some of the vocabulary elements, both the alphanumeric characters of this vocabulary element and a sequence of numerical data which defines the pronunciation of this vocabulary element. Its memory contains in particular names of location points with both the alphanumeric characters of these names and a sequence of numerical data which defines their pronunciation.

Ces aspects de l'invention ainsi que d'autres aspects plus détaillés apparaîtront plus clairement grâce à la description suivante d'un mode de réalisation constituant un exemple non limitatif.These aspects of the invention as well as other more detailed aspects will become more clearly apparent from the following description of an embodiment constituting a nonlimiting example.

La figure 1 représente schématiquement un récepteur autoradio équipé de l'invention.FIG. 1 schematically represents a car radio receiver equipped with the invention.

La figure 2 représente plus en détail la partie concernée par l'invention, et ses connections avec le reste de l'appareil.Figure 2 shows in more detail the part concerned by the invention, and its connections with the rest of the apparatus.

La description qui suit concerne un autoradio destiné à recevoir et exploiter des signaux dits RDS/TMC. Il est clair que l'homme du métier saurait adapter cette description au cas d'un appareil de navigation ou de routage, par exemple d'un genre connu sous le nom "CARIN" ou "CARMINAT" ou "SOCRATES", d'autant que la partie qui met en oeuvre l'invention peut être semblable dans un autoradio et dans un appareil de navigation.The following description relates to a car radio intended to receive and process so-called RDS / TMC signals. It is clear that a person skilled in the art would be able to adapt this description to the case of a navigation or routing device, for example of a kind known by the name "CARIN" or "CARMINAT" or "SOCRATES", all the more that the part which implements the invention may be similar in a car radio and in a navigation device.

Le récepteur de la figure 1 comporte, à partir d'une antenne 1, un dispositif 2 ("tuner") contenant un circuit de syntonisation et un circuit de changement de fréquence, suivi d'un dispositif 3 contenant un amplificateur à fréquence intermédiaire et un démodulateur.The receiver of FIG. 1 comprises, from an antenna 1, a device 2 ("tuner") containing a tuning circuit and a frequency change circuit, followed by a device 3 containing an amplifier at intermediate frequency and a receiver.

Dans le procédé dit RDS ("Radio Data System"), une sous-porteuse FM est modulée par des signaux numériques de données, utiles à la réception des différents émetteurs d'une même chaîne. Pour traiter ces signaux, le récepteur comporte un décodeur 13 de messages RDS.In the so-called RDS (Radio Data System) method, an FM subcarrier is modulated by digital signals of data, useful for receiving different transmitters of the same channel. To process these signals, the receiver includes a decoder 13 for RDS messages.

Dans le cas du procédé connu dit "TMC" (Traffic Message Channel"), des messages d'information sur la circulation sont incorporés dans certains champs numériques des signaux RDS, par exemple : "bouchon trois km avant l'entrée de Paris".In the case of the known process called "TMC" (Traffic Message Channel "), traffic information messages are incorporated into certain digital fields of RDS signals, for example:" traffic jam three km before entering Paris ".

Pour traiter les messages TMC, le récepteur comporte un module 14, auquel les données RDS du décodeur 13 sont amenées par un bus 21, pour être analysées et éventuellement mémorisées. Pour permettre de délivrer des messages sous forme vocale, ce module 14 est aussi relié à un système amplificateur audio 4 suivi d'un haut-parleur 5. Il est relié aussi à un dispositif d'interface entrée/sortie 18 relié à un clavier de commande 12 et à un écran d'affichage 10, par exemple à cristaux liquides.To process the TMC messages, the receiver includes a module 14, to which the RDS data of the decoder 13 is brought by a bus 21, to be analyzed and possibly stored. To enable messages to be delivered in voice form, this module 14 is also connected to an audio amplifier system 4 followed by a loudspeaker 5. It is also connected to an input / output interface device 18 connected to a keyboard. control 12 and a display screen 10, for example with liquid crystal.

Les messages TMC standard sont constitués de plusieurs champs de données numériques, reçus dans les données RDS, et qui désignent des éléments de vocabulaire par un numéro de code :

  • un 1er champ, de 11 bits, contient le numéro de code d'un élément de vocabulaire (mot ou groupe de mots) décrivant un événement,
  • un 2e champ, de 16 bits, contient le numéro de code d'un élément de vocabulaire définissant la localisation concernée par l'événement en question,
  • un 3e champ, de 3 bits, contient une donnée décrivant une extension de la localisation concernée,
  • un 4e champ, de 1 bit, décrivant le sens du trajet concerné,
  • un 5e champ, de 3 bits, donnant la durée de validité du message,
  • un 6e champ, de 1 bit, indiquant s'il est recommandé ou non de prendre une déviation.
Standard TMC messages are made up of several fields of digital data, received in RDS data, and which designate vocabulary elements by a code number:
  • a 1st field, of 11 bits, contains the code number of a vocabulary element (word or group of words) describing an event,
  • a 2nd field, 16 bits contain a vocabulary item code defining the location concerned by the event in question,
  • 3 rd field, 3 bits, contains data describing an extension of the location concerned,
  • a 4 th field, of 1 bit, describing the direction of the path concerned,
  • a 5 th field, of 3 bits, giving the duration of validity of the message,
  • a 6 th field, of 1 bit, indicating whether or not it is recommended to take a detour.

Le contenu de chacun des champs doit être traité de façon à exprimer en clair ce dont il s'agit. Pour cela est prévue une mémoire permanente, dans laquelle sont stockées des informations en clair (sous forme par exemple des codes ASCII des caractères d'un message à afficher), à des adresses correspondant aux différents contenus possibles de chaque champ, ce qui permet de retrouver les informations à partir du contenu d'un champ.The content of each of the fields must be treated in order to clearly express what it is about. For this is planned a permanent memory, in which clear information is stored (in the form for example of the ASCII codes of the characters of a message to be displayed), at addresses corresponding to the different possible contents of each field, which makes it possible to find the information to from the content of a field.

Par exemple, le 1er champ (décrivant un événement), qui comporte 11 bits, est associé à une mémoire qui peut contenir en clair 2048 éléments de vocabulaire (soit 211 éléments de vocabulaire), chacun étant trouvé à l'adresse définie par le contenu du champ. Ces éléments de vocabulaire disent par exemple "bouchon", "travaux", "accident", etc.For example, the 1 st field (describing an event), which has 11 bits, is associated with a memory which can contain in plain text 2048 vocabulary elements (i.e. 2 11 vocabulary elements), each being found at the address defined by the content of the field. These vocabulary elements say for example "traffic jam", "work", "accident", etc.

Le 2e champ (décrivant une localisation), qui comporte 16 bits, est associé à une mémoire, dite mémoire des points de localisation, qui peut contenir en clair jusqu'à 65536 éléments de vocabulaire (soit 216 éléments de vocabulaire) qui comprennent des données complètes sur notamment des noms de localisations, leur type, la région à laquelle ils appartiennent, les points suivant et précédent, etc, chaque élément de vocabulaire étant en principe trouvé à une adresse désignée par le contenu du champ. Ces éléments de vocabulaire sont par exemple "Paris", ou "Lille", ou "la sortie 21", etc. Pour chaque pays concerné sont définies plusieurs bases de données différentes de 65536 éléments chacune, à choisir selon l'application. Le pays concerné est indiqué dans un code dit PI des données RDS, et la référence de la base de données choisie est indiqué dans un "message système" qui est émis de temps en temps par chaque émetteur RDS/TMC.The 2 nd field (describing a location), which comprises 16 bits, is associated with a memory, known as the location point memory, which can contain in the clear up to 65,536 vocabulary elements (i.e. 2 16 vocabulary elements) which include complete data on in particular localization names, their type, the region to which they belong, the next and previous points, etc., each vocabulary element being in principle found at an address designated by the content of the field. These vocabulary elements are for example "Paris", or "Lille", or "the exit 21", etc. For each country concerned, several different databases of 65,536 elements are defined, to be chosen according to the application. The country concerned is indicated in a so-called PI code of RDS data, and the reference of the chosen database is indicated in a "system message" which is sent from time to time by each RDS / TMC transmitter.

Dans le 3e champ, différents types d'extensions sont définis. On entend par extension le fait que l'événement considéré s'étend par exemple jusqu'à la localisation suivante.In the 3rd field, different types of extensions are defined. By extension is meant the fact that the event considered extends for example to the following location.

Dans le 4e champ, un bit O signifie par exemple "sens Paris → Lille", alors qu'un bit 1 signifierait "sens Lille → Paris" (c'est le contenu du champ 2 qui indique qu'on est sur une liaison entre Paris et Lille, mais le sens n'y est pas indiqué).In the 4 th field, a bit O means for example "direction Paris → Lille", while a bit 1 would mean "direction Lille → Paris" (it is the content of field 2 which indicates that we are on a link between Paris and Lille, but the direction is not indicated there).

Sur la figure 2, le module 14 comprend un microcontrôleur 7 qui génère des signaux de contrôle et traite les signaux qui sortent des différents dispositifs, auxquels il est relié par un bus d'adresses 15 et par un bus de données 21. Le module 14 comprend aussi plusieurs mémoires :

  • une mémoire volatile 9 dite "RAM", pour le stockage de données valides à un instant donné,
  • une mémoire permanente 8 pour le stockage de descriptions de vocabulaire fixées une fois pour toutes par le standard TMC en correspondance avec certains champs, par exemple le 1er champ,
  • et une mémoire 22, 23 constituée d'un lecteur 22 de carte à mémoire et d'une carte à mémoire amovible 23, par exemple de type PCMCIA, dans laquelle sont stockés plus spécialement les données correspondant au 2e champ des données TMC c'est-à-dire, pour chacun des noms de localisations prévus pour un pays donné, son épellation par exemple en caractères ASCII, et la séquence de phonèmes qui lui correspond, ces données correspondant donc à un groupe d'usagers et/ou à une région donnés.
In FIG. 2, the module 14 comprises a microcontroller 7 which generates control signals and processes the signals which come out of the various devices, to which it is connected by an address bus 15 and by a data bus 21. The module 14 also includes several memories:
  • a volatile memory 9 called "RAM", for the storage of data valid at a given instant,
  • a permanent memory 8 for storing vocabulary descriptions fixed once and for all by the TMC standard in correspondence with certain fields, for example the 1st field,
  • and a memory 22, 23 consists of a 22 memory card reader and a removable memory card 23, for example of the PCMCIA type, wherein are stored in particular the data corresponding to 2nd TMC data field c ' that is to say, for each of the localization names provided for a given country, its spelling for example in ASCII characters, and the sequence of phonemes which corresponds to it, these data therefore corresponding to a group of users and / or to a given region.

Le microcontrôleur 7 sélectionne et prépare des données numériques, par exemple une suite de codes désignant chacun un phonème, permettant à un module de synthèse vocale 20 connu en soi, d'engendrer les phonèmes sous la forme de signaux analogiques délivrés à l'amplificateur audio 4 suivi du haut-parleur 5. Pour mémoire, un phonème est une unité sonore d'un langage. Le document EP-A-0 059 880 enseigne qu'en Anglais il y a 40 phonèmes, mais conseille d'utiliser 127 "allophones", qui sont des sous-ensembles des phonèmes, modifiés par leur environnement, ce qui donne une représentation plus précise des sons. Selon le degré de qualité recherché, le nombre des phonèmes peut donc varier. Quoiqu'il en soit, le nombre des différents descriptifs de phonèmes n'est pas très grand, en général il est de l'ordre de quelques dizaines, définis à l'avance comme "phonèmes standard".The microcontroller 7 selects and prepares digital data, for example a series of codes each designating a phoneme, allowing a speech synthesis module 20 known per se, to generate the phonemes in the form of analog signals delivered to the audio amplifier. 4 followed by speaker 5. For the record, a phoneme is a sound unit of a language. The document EP-A-0 059 880 teaches that in English there are 40 phonemes, but advises to use 127 "allophones", which are subsets of the phonemes, modified by their environment, which gives a more specifies sounds. Depending on the level of quality sought, the number of phonemes can therefore vary. Anyway, the number of different descriptions of phonemes is not very large, in general it is of the order of a few tens, defined in advance as "standard phonemes".

A partir des codes de ces phonèmes standard, le module de synthèse vocale 20 fournit les signaux analogiques voulus à l'amplificateur audio 4 suivi du haut-parleur 5. Ce module 20 comprend entre autres :

  • son propre micro-contrôleur 24,
  • une mémoire volatile 17 dite "RAM", entre autres pour le stockage transitoire des codes désignant chacun un phonème, venant du microcontrôleur 7 et à partir desquelles le module 20 engendre les phonèmes,
  • et une mémoire permanente 16 par exemple de type dit "ROM", dans laquelle sont stockés, en correspondance avec chacun des codes désignant un phonème, des échantillons successifs d'amplitude d'un signal analogique destiné à l'amplificateur audio. Les échantillons voulus sont lus un par un par le microcontrôleur 24, à une cadence d'échantillonnage de par exemple 8kHz, puis convertis dans un convertisseur analogique-numérique 6 pour engendrer un signal analogique pour l'amplificateur audio 4.
From the codes of these standard phonemes, the voice synthesis module 20 provides the desired analog signals to the audio amplifier 4 followed by the speaker 5. This module 20 comprises inter alia:
  • its own microcontroller 24,
  • a volatile memory 17 called "RAM", inter alia for the transient storage of the codes each designating a phoneme, coming from the microcontroller 7 and from which the module 20 generates the phonemes,
  • and a permanent memory 16, for example of the so-called "ROM" type, in which are stored, in correspondence with each of the codes designating a phoneme, successive amplitude samples of an analog signal intended for the audio amplifier. The desired samples are read one by one by the microcontroller 24, at a sampling rate of for example 8 kHz, then converted into an analog-digital converter 6 to generate an analog signal for the audio amplifier 4.

Lorsqu'un message TMC arrive, le microcontrôleur 7 reçoit de la part du décodeur RDS 13 les contenus des champs, et les inscrit dans la mémoire 9. Pour l'affichage sur l'écran 10 et/ou l'émission vocale de ce message, le microcontrôleur 7 extrait de la mémoire 9 au moins les contenus des champs 1, 3, 4 qu'il interprète de façon connue, entre autres en lisant dans la mémoire 8 les constituants du message à produire pour annoncer l'événement correspondant, sous la forme par exemple de codes décrivant les énoncés correspondants. Puis le microcontrôleur extrait de la mémoire 9 le 2e champ, il en déduit une adresse dans la mémoire 23 au moyen de laquelle il lit dans cette mémoire d'une part l'épellation du nom de localisation correspondant et d'autre part les phonèmes le constituant. Il insère l'épellation aux endroits convenables dans le message à afficher pour annonçer l'événement, et les phonèmes aux endroits convenables dans la séquence des codes de phonèmes qu'il fournit au générateur 20.When a TMC message arrives, the microcontroller 7 receives the contents of the fields from the RDS decoder 13, and writes them to memory 9. For display on the screen 10 and / or the voice transmission of this message , the microcontroller 7 extracts from memory 9 at least the contents of fields 1, 3, 4 which it interprets in a known manner, inter alia by reading in memory 8 the constituents of the message to be produced to announce the corresponding event, under the form for example of codes describing the corresponding statements. Then the microcontroller extracts from memory 9 the 2 nd field, it deduces therefrom an address in memory 23 by means of which it reads from this memory on the one hand the spelling of the corresponding location name and on the other hand the phonemes the constituent. It inserts the spelling at the appropriate places in the message to be displayed to announce the event, and the phonemes at the suitable places in the sequence of the phoneme codes which it supplies to the generator 20.

Claims (8)

Appareil d'information routière muni - d'une mémoire de vocabulaire contenant des descriptions d'éléments de vocabulaire, dans laquelle chacune des descriptions d'éléments de vocabulaire est adressable à partir d'un numéro de code désignant un élément de vocabulaire, la mémoire contenant pour chacun des éléments de vocabulaire des données numériques qui décrivent cet élément de vocabulaire, - et d'un générateur de synthèse vocale pour engendrer les phonèmes correspondant à l'énoncé des dits éléments de vocabulaire sous forme vocale, caractérisé en ce que - la mémoire contient, pour au moins certains des éléments de vocabulaire, à la fois les caractères alphanumériques de cet élément de vocabulaire et une séquence de données numériques qui définit la prononciation de cet élément de vocabulaire, - et l'appareil comporte des moyens pour lire cette séquence de données numériques dans la mémoire et la fournir au générateur de synthèse vocale. Road traffic information device a vocabulary memory containing descriptions of vocabulary elements, in which each of the descriptions of vocabulary elements can be addressed from a code number designating a vocabulary element, the memory containing for each of the elements of vocabulary of the numerical data which describe this element of vocabulary, - and a voice synthesis generator to generate the phonemes corresponding to the statement of said vocabulary elements in vocal form, characterized in that the memory contains, for at least some of the vocabulary elements, both the alphanumeric characters of this vocabulary element and a sequence of digital data which defines the pronunciation of this vocabulary element, - And the device includes means for reading this sequence of digital data in the memory and providing it to the speech synthesis generator. Appareil d'information routière selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que la mémoire contient des noms de points de localisation avec à la fois les caractères alphanumériques de ces noms et une séquence de données numériques qui définit leur prononciation.Traffic information device according to claim 1, characterized in that the memory contains names of location points with both the alphanumeric characters of these names and a sequence of digital data which defines their pronunciation. Appareil d'information routière selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que au moins une partie de la mémoire de vocabulaire est contenue dans une carte amovible.Road traffic information device according to claim 1, characterized in that at least part of the vocabulary memory is contained in a removable card. Appareil d'information routière selon la revendication 3, caractérisé en ce que la carte amovible contient les données concernant des noms de points de localisation.Road traffic information device according to claim 3, characterized in that the removable card contains the data relating to names of location points. Module générateur de messages d'information routière comportant ou étant associé à une mémoire de vocabulaire, et muni de moyens pour y lire des données numériques qui constituent la description d'éléments de vocabulaire, chacune des descriptions d'éléments de vocabulaire étant adressable à partir d'un numéro de code désignant un élément de vocabulaire, caractérisé en ce qu'il est muni de moyens pour lire dans la mémoire, pour au moins certains des éléments de vocabulaire, d'une part les caractères alphanumériques de cet élément de vocabulaire, et d'autre part une séquence de données numériques qui définit la prononciation de cet élément de vocabulaire.Traffic information message generator module comprising or being associated with a vocabulary memory, and provided with means for reading therein digital data which constitute the description of vocabulary elements, each of the descriptions of vocabulary elements being addressable from a code number designating a vocabulary element, characterized in that it is provided with means for reading into memory, for at least some of the vocabulary elements, on the one hand the alphanumeric characters of this vocabulary element, and on the other hand a sequence of numerical data that defines the pronunciation of this vocabulary element. Module générateur de messages d'information routière selon la revendication 5, caractérisé en ce qu'il est muni de moyens pour lire dans la mémoire des noms de points de localisation avec à la fois les caractères alphanumériques de ces noms et une séquence de données numériques qui définit leur prononciation.Module for traffic information messages according to claim 5, characterized in that it is provided with means for reading from the memory names of location points with both the alphanumeric characters of these names and a sequence of digital data which defines their pronunciation. Carte portative destinée à être utilisée dans un appareil de génération de messages, munie d'une mémoire de vocabulaire contenant des descriptions d'éléments de vocabulaire, dans laquelle chacune des descriptions d'éléments de vocabulaire est adressable à partir d'un numéro de code désignant un élément de vocabulaire, la mémoire contenant pour chacun des éléments de vocabulaire des données numériques qui décrivent cet élément de vocabulaire, caractérisée en ce que sa mémoire contient, pour au moins certains des éléments de vocabulaire, à la fois les caractères alphanumériques de cet élément de vocabulaire et une séquence de données numériques qui définit la prononciation de cet élément de vocabulaire.Portable card intended for use in a message generation apparatus, provided with a vocabulary memory containing descriptions of vocabulary elements, in which each of the descriptions of vocabulary elements is addressable from a code number designating a vocabulary element, the memory containing for each of the vocabulary elements numerical data which describe this vocabulary element, characterized in that its memory contains, for at least some of the vocabulary elements, both the alphanumeric characters of this vocabulary item and a sequence of numeric data that defines the pronunciation of that vocabulary item. Carte portative selon la revendication 7, caractérisée en ce que sa mémoire contient des noms de points de localisation avec à la fois les caractères alphanumériques de ces noms et une séquence de données numériques qui définit leur prononciation.Portable card according to claim 7, characterized in that its memory contains names of location points with both the alphanumeric characters of these names and a sequence of digital data which defines their pronunciation.
EP96200938A 1995-04-20 1996-04-10 Traffic information apparatus with a message store and a vocal synthesis generator Expired - Lifetime EP0738994B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR9504737A FR2733333A1 (en) 1995-04-20 1995-04-20 ROAD INFORMATION APPARATUS PROVIDED WITH A MEMORY MEMORY AND A VOICE SYNTHESIZER GENERATOR
FR9504737 1995-04-20

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US6226646B1 (en) 1996-03-12 2001-05-01 Mannesmann Vdo Ag Storage medium carrying geographical location data
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US5970456A (en) 1999-10-19
DE69609550T2 (en) 2001-04-05
CN1267889C (en) 2006-08-02
TW307853B (en) 1997-06-11
EP0738994B1 (en) 2000-08-02
ATE195191T1 (en) 2000-08-15
KR960038696A (en) 1996-11-21
DE69609550D1 (en) 2000-09-07
KR100436609B1 (en) 2006-03-27
JPH08292793A (en) 1996-11-05
FR2733333A1 (en) 1996-10-25

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