US3816660A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Speech synthesizer with glide control
Assignee: Panasonic Holdings Corp
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Filing: 1971-12-28
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Granted: 1974-06-11
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Expires: 1991-12-28
Abstract
Abstract A film plate with a series of signal patterns representative of successions of individual speech-sound wave units stored thereon is disposed in front of a cathode ray tube having an optical fiber face plate. By appropriately controlling the scanning system of the cathode ray tube, the scanning beam is directed to the pattern of a signal representing the speech-sound wave unit on the film plate which is required to be read out. The intensity of the electron beam itself is controlled in such a manner as to smooth the glide portion between adjacent speech sounds. The corresponding speech sound is reproduced by detecting the signal for the desired speech sound by a photosensor disposed near the film plate.
Inventors
- 👤 A Nishiyama
- 👤 E Tsuboka
- 👤 H Ohwaki
- 👤 H Yoshino
- 👤 T Yamaguchi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 15:02
CPC Classifications
G; G10; G10L; G10L13/00; G10L13/06
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
141 words
A speech-sound synthesizer comprising a memory plate for storing a plurality of speech-sound information signals corresponding to a plurality of speech-sound wave units in respective addresses on said memory plate, said memory plate being disposed in front of a cathode-ray tube; means for moving an electron beam to a desired address on said memory plate in response to a coded address signal; means for sweeping said electron beam along a stored speech-sound information signal in said desired address; means for controlling the intensity of the electron beam of said cathode-ray tube, and thereby the image on said tube so that said intensity gradually changes at the beginning and end portions of each of said speech-sounds; and means for detecting light from said cathode-ray tube through said memory plate and for converting said light modulated by said memory plate into corresponding speech-sounds.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
141 words
A speech-sound synthesizer comprising a memory plate for storing a plurality of speech-sound information signals corresponding to a plurality of speech-sound wave units in respective addresses on said memory plate, said memory plate being disposed in front of a cathode-ray tube; means for moving an electron beam to a desired address on said memory plate in response to a coded address signal; means for sweeping said electron beam along a stored speech-sound information signal in said desired address; means for controlling the intensity of the electron beam of said cathode-ray tube, and thereby the image on said tube so that said intensity gradually changes at the beginning and end portions of each of said speech-sounds; and means for detecting light from said cathode-ray tube through said memory plate and for converting said light modulated by said memory plate into corresponding speech-sounds.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
87 words
A speech-sound synthesizer according to claim 1, wherein waveforms of speech-sound wave units are recorded on said memory plate as speech-sound information, and there are provided a first deflection circuit for generating a signal scanning said electron beam in the direction of the time axis of the waveform of a speech-sound wave unit and a second deflection circuit for deflecting said electron beam in the direction of the amplitude of the waveform of a speech-sound wave unit to oscillate in a constant frequency with a predetermined amplitude.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
23 words
A speech-sound synthesizer according to claim 1, wherein PCM modulated speech-sound wave units are recorded on said memory plate as speech-sound information signals.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
24 words
A speech-sound synthesizer according to claim 1, wherein said speech-sound information signals are represented by densities corresponding to the amplitudes of speech-sound wave units.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
34 words
A speech-sound synthesizer according to claim 1, further comprising a means for determining the duration of said individual speech-sounds, said sweeping means repeatedly sweeping said electron beam on each of selected speech-sound wave units.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
85 words
A speech-sound synthesizer according to claim 5, wherein said means for determining the duration of said individual speech-sounds comprises a first monostable circuit to determine the duration of a consonant consisting of an antecedent consonant and an attributive vowel, a second monostable circuit to determine the duration of said antecedent consonant by selecting appropriate capacitance from among a group of different capacitances, and a third monostable circuit to determine the duration of said attributive vowel with the aid of said first and second monostable circuits.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
100 words
A speech-sound synthesizer according to claim 5, wherein said means for controlling the intensity of said cathode-ray tube comprises a first integrating circuit to integrate the output of said means for determining the duration of individual speech-sounds, a second integrating circuit to integrate the signal opposite in phase to said output signal from said duration determining means, and a gate means to alternately pass the outputs from said first and second integrating circuit, the gated integranting circuit outputs being applied as a deflecting signal to said cathode ray tube as an intensity modulating signal to generate ''''glides'''' in said speech-sounds.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
37 words
A speech-sound synthesizer according to claim 1, wherein a means for variably controlling the sweep wIdth of said individual speech-sound information signals is provided in said sweeping means, thereby to variably control the pitch frequencies of speech-sounds.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
92 words
A speech-sound synthesizer according to claim 1, wherein said sweeping means comprises a phase inverting circuit to phase-invert the envelope of acoustic wave forms, an adder to add an external signal for controlling the frequencies of speech-sound pitches to said inverted envelope, a comparator circuit to compare the output signal from said adder with the output signal from a saw-tooth wave generator circuit which is controlled by the output of said comparator, whereby said pitch frequencies are controlled by using the signal from said saw-tooth wave generator circuit as a deflecting signal.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-06-10 | 1977-12-10 | 1978-06-11 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-06-10 | 1981-12-10 | 1982-06-11 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-06-10 | 1985-12-10 | 1986-06-11 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |