Telephone set, telephone system, sound volume setting method and program of telephone set

0001The present invention relates to a telephone, a telephone system, a telephone volume setting method, and a program, and more particularly to a telephone, a telephone system, a telephone volume setting method, and a program in which the volume is automatically set.

0002There are telephones used by multiple unspecified users, such as ATMs (Automated Teller Machines), elevators, telephones installed in homes, and public telephones. Since the optimum volume differs for each user and each installation environment, if the volume is set uniformly for such a telephone, the volume becomes difficult for the user to hear and the convenience is impaired.

0003On the other hand, in Patent Document 1, it is possible to acquire facial features that uniquely identify a user with a camera, and adjust the volume or the like depending on whether or not the user to be acquired is a registered user. It is disclosed.

0004Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a mobile phone terminal that recognizes a user's state from an image of the user's face captured by a camera and changes the volume according to the recognized state. Further, Patent Document 2 further discloses that when a specific repetitive expression is included in the received voice, the volume is changed to deal with the difficulty in hearing due to the background noise.

<p num="0005"><patcit num="1"><text>Special Table 2009-516473 Gazette</text></patcit><patcit num="2"><text>Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-64093</text></patcit></p>

<p num="0006"> In the technique described in Patent Document 1, since it is necessary to identify an individual, it is not possible to set an appropriate volume in the case of use by a user other than the user assumed in advance. Further, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the volume may be inappropriate depending on the call environment. In the technique described in Patent Document 2, since the volume is changed depending on the presence or absence of a specific repetitive expression, it is difficult to adjust the volume before the call is started even when the call environment is noisy, for example. Yes, and the volume is not adjusted unless certain repetitive expressions are used during the conversation.</p><p num="0007"> The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and a telephone and a telephone system capable of providing an optimum volume to a user even when the user and the installation environment are unspecified. , A method of setting the volume of a telephone, and a program.</p>

<p num="0008"> The telephone according to the present invention includes a learning result storage means for storing learning result data about a predetermined feature information of a face image for each age group, an image acquisition means for acquiring a user's face image, and the image acquisition. The feature information of the face image acquired by the means is compared with the feature information stored in the learning result storage means, and the estimation means for estimating the age group of the user and the volume to be used are estimated by the estimation means. It has a volume setting means for setting the volume according to the installation environment corresponding to the age group.</p><p num="0009"> Further, the telephone system according to the present invention includes a learning result storage means for storing learning result data about a predetermined feature information of a face image for each age group, an image acquisition means for acquiring a user's face image, and the like. The estimation means for estimating the age group of the user and the volume to be used are estimated by comparing the feature information of the face image acquired by the image acquisition means with the feature information stored by the learning result storage means. It has a volume setting means for setting the volume according to the installation environment of the telephone, corresponding to the age group estimated by the means.</p><p num="0010"> Further, in the method of setting the volume of the telephone according to the present invention, the image acquisition step of acquiring the user's face image and the feature information of the acquired face image are obtained for each predetermined age group of the face image feature information. An estimation step for estimating the age group of the user by comparing with the learning result data of the above, and a volume setting step for setting the volume to be used to a volume corresponding to the estimated age group and according to the installation environment of the telephone. And include.</p><p num="0011"> Further, in the program according to the present invention, the image acquisition step of acquiring the user's face image and the feature information of the acquired face image are obtained as learning result data about the feature information of the face image for each predetermined age group. In comparison with the above, the computer is provided with an estimation step for estimating the age group of the user and a volume setting step for setting the volume to be used to a volume corresponding to the estimated age group according to the installation environment of the telephone. Let it run.</p>

<p num="0012"> According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a telephone, a telephone system, a method for setting a volume of a telephone, and a program capable of providing an optimum volume to the user even when the user and the installation environment are unspecified.</p>

0013<figref num="1">It is a figure which shows the outline of the telephone which concerns on embodiment.</figref><figref num="2">It is a perspective view which shows the appearance of the telephone which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG.</figref><figref num="3">It is a figure which shows the hardware configuration of the telephone which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG.</figref><figref num="4">It is a functional block diagram of the telephone which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG.</figref><figref num="5">It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation about setting of the volume in the telephone which concerns on Embodiment 1.</figref><figref num="6">It is a functional block diagram of the telephone which concerns on Embodiment 3. FIG.</figref><figref num="7">It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation about the setting of the volume in the telephone which concerns on Embodiment 3. FIG.</figref><figref num="8">It is a functional block diagram of the telephone which concerns on Embodiment 4. FIG.</figref><figref num="9">It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation about the setting of the volume in the telephone which concerns on Embodiment 4. FIG.</figref>

0014(Overview of Embodiments of the present invention) Prior to the description of the embodiment, the outline of the embodiment according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a telephone 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The telephone 1 has a learning result storage unit 2, an image acquisition unit 3, an estimation unit 4, and a volume setting unit 5.

0015The learning result storage unit 2 stores learning result data about the feature information of the facial image for each predetermined age group. The image acquisition unit 3 acquires the face image of the user of the telephone 1. The estimation unit 4 compares the feature information of the face image acquired by the image acquisition unit 3 with the feature information stored in the learning result storage unit 2 to estimate the age group of the user of the telephone 1. The volume setting unit 5 sets the volume used by the telephone 1 to a volume corresponding to the age group estimated by the estimation unit 4 according to the installation environment of the telephone 1.

0016According to such a telephone 1, the volume is set according to the age group of the user and according to the installation environment of the telephone 1. Therefore, even when the user and the installation environment are unspecified, the optimum volume can be provided to the user.

0017(Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the telephone 100 according to the first embodiment. Further, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the telephone 100 according to the first embodiment. The telephone 100 is a device for making a call with another telephone by an arbitrary communication method via a communication network (not shown). Further, the telephone 100 is a non-portable telephone, and is installed and used at a specific place. The telephone 100 is, for example, a desktop telephone, a public telephone, or the like. Further, the telephone 100 may be a telephone installed in another device or device such as an ATM or an elevator. As described above, a plurality of unspecified users are assumed as the users of the telephone 100.

0018As shown in FIG. 2, the telephone 100 includes a camera 101, a microphone 102, an input unit 103, a display unit 104, a handset 105, a handset detection unit 106, and a speaker 107. .. Further, the telephone 100 has a function as a computer, and has, for example, a control unit 108 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage unit 109 such as a memory or a hard disk (see FIG. 3).

0019The camera 101 is a digital camera equipped with a lens, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor, and a solid-state image sensor such as a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). In the present embodiment, the camera 101 is built in the telephone 100, but may be externally attached to the telephone 100. The camera 101 is provided so as to cover the body including the face of the user of the telephone 100, for example. Specifically, the camera 101 is provided so that the imaging range is the position of the body including the face, which is assumed when the user uses the telephone 100. The microphone 102 converts the sound around the installation environment of the telephone 100 into an audio signal.

0020The input unit 103 is an input interface for the user to operate, and is, for example, a button including a dial key, a volume setting button, and the like. The input unit 103 does not necessarily have to be composed of buttons, and may be configured by a touch panel or the like.

0021The display unit 104 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays various information such as incoming call information and volume information. For example, when the input unit 103 is composed of a touch panel, the input unit 103 may also have the function of the display unit 104.

0022The handset 105 includes a speaker that outputs the voice signal of the other party as sound, and a microphone that converts the voice emitted by the user of the telephone 100 into a voice signal.

0023The handset detection unit 106 detects that the handset 105 has been lifted. That is, the handset detection unit 106 detects the transition from the on-hook state to the off-hook state. For example, the handset detector 106 has a switch that the handset 105 is pressed in the on-hook state, and when the switch is changed from the pressed state to the non-pressed state, the handset 105 is lifted. Detect as a thing.

0024The speaker 107 outputs various voice signals such as a ring tone and voice guidance as sound. The speaker 107 may output the voice of the other party in place of the voice output of the handset 105 or together with the voice output of the handset 105.

0025FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the telephone 100 according to the first embodiment. The telephone 100 has a learning result storage unit 10, an age group-specific volume storage unit 11, an image acquisition unit 12, an estimation unit 13, a volume measurement unit 14, and a volume setting unit 15.

0026The image acquisition unit 12, the estimation unit 13, the volume measurement unit 14, and the volume setting unit 15 can be realized by, for example, executing a program under the control of the control unit 108. More specifically, the program stored in the storage unit 109 is executed and realized under the control of the control unit 108. Further, each component is not limited to being realized by software by a program, and may be realized by a combination of hardware, firmware, software, or the like. Further, the learning result storage unit 10 and the age group-specific volume storage unit 11 are realized by, for example, the storage unit 109.

0027The learning result storage unit 10 stores learning result data about the feature information of the facial image for each predetermined age group. The predetermined age group is, for example, teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and the like. The age group may be set more finely or more roughly. In addition, the age range of each age group may be different, such as 20 years old or younger, 20 to 50 years old, 50 years old or older, and the like. Moreover, the age range of each age group may be 1 year. The feature information is information about any feature of the face, such as information about wrinkles on the face and information on the relative positions of facial components such as eyes, nose, and mouth.

0028The learning result data is, for example, data showing characteristic information of a predetermined facial image for each age group learned by machine learning. For example, the learning result storage unit 10 uses data indicating feature information obtained by machine learning using face image data of a plurality of persons whose age groups are known as teacher data to obtain features of the face image of the age group. It is stored as learning result data about information. The number of teacher data is determined according to the estimation accuracy required for age estimation. For example, the higher the estimation accuracy, the more face image data is used in machine learning to obtain learning result data.

0029The age group-specific volume storage unit 11 stores information indicating the correspondence between the age group and the volume. In the present embodiment, the age group-specific volume storage unit 11 specifically stores information indicating a volume to be added to the volume of the installation environment of the telephone 100 (hereinafter, referred to as an added volume) for each age group. To do. In general, since hearing is lost as the age increases, the age group-specific volume storage unit 11 associates the first additional volume with the first age group and makes it more than the first age group. The information corresponding to the second additional volume, which is larger than the first additional volume, is stored for the second age group of the elderly. Each age group in the volume storage unit 11 for each age group corresponds to the age group of the learning result data stored in the learning result storage unit 10.

0030The image acquisition unit 12 acquires a user's face image captured by the camera 101. The face image is an image including a face portion of the user. The image acquisition unit 12 outputs the acquired face image to the estimation unit 13. For example, the image acquisition unit 12 extracts an image including the user's face portion from the image output from the camera 101 by using a known face recognition process, and cuts out an area including the user's face portion. The partial image is output to the estimation unit 13.

0031The estimation unit 13 estimates the age group of the user of the telephone 100 from the face image acquired by the image acquisition unit 12. Specifically, the estimation unit 13 compares the feature information of the face image acquired by the image acquisition unit 12 with the feature information stored by the learning result storage unit 10 to estimate the age group of the user. For example, in the estimation unit 13, the age group in which the feature information of the face image acquired by the image acquisition unit 12 is stored in the learning result storage unit 10. is closest to the feature information of each and determines that the closest is the same. The age group associated with the determined feature information is estimated as the user's age group. The estimation unit 13 notifies the volume setting unit 15 of the estimated age group.

0032The volume measuring unit 14 measures the volume of the installation environment of the telephone 100. Specifically, the sound signal of the sound around the installation environment collected by the microphone 102 is received, and the sound pressure value of this sound signal is measured. The volume measuring unit 14 outputs the measured volume of the installation environment to the volume setting unit 15.

0033The volume setting unit 15 sets the volume used by the telephone 100 to a volume that is increased by a predetermined volume according to the age group from the volume measured by the volume measurement unit 14. Specifically, the volume setting unit 15 sets the earpiece volume of the handset 105 as follows. That is, the volume setting unit 15 adds the added volume corresponding to the age group estimated by the estimation unit 13 to the volume measured by the volume measuring unit 14 among the added volumes stored in the volume storage unit 11 for each age group. Set the volume you have set as the earpiece volume.

0034The volume setting unit 15 may set not only the earpiece volume but also the volume output by the speaker 107 in the same manner. When the volume setting unit 15 sets the earpiece volume of the handset 105 and the volume output by the speaker 107, the earpiece volume of the handset 105 for the estimated age group and the volume of the speaker 107 for the estimated age group. May be different. In this case, for example, the age group-specific volume storage unit 11 stores information indicating the added volume for the earpiece volume of the handset 105 and information indicating the added volume for the volume of the speaker 107, respectively.

0035Further, the volume setting unit 15 may use the average volume or the maximum volume for a predetermined period as the volume of the installation environment used when setting the volume.

0036Next, the operation related to the volume setting in the telephone 100 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation related to the volume setting in the telephone 100.

0037In step 10 (S10), the control unit 108 determines whether or not the handset detection unit 106 has detected the lift of the handset 105. Step 10 is repeated until the handset detector 106 detects the lift of the handset 105, and when the handset detector 106 detects the lift of the handset 105, the process proceeds to step 11.

0038In step 11 (S11), the control unit 108 causes the camera 101 to start imaging. As described above, in the present embodiment, the camera 101 starts imaging when the handset detection unit 106 detects the lifting of the handset 105. Therefore, power consumption can be suppressed.

0039Next, in step 12 (S12), the image acquisition unit 12 acquires the user's face image captured by the camera 101. Next, in step 13 (S13), the estimation unit 13 estimates the age group of the user of the telephone 100 from the face image acquired by the image acquisition unit 12. Next, in step 14 (S14), the volume setting unit 15 sets the volume used by the telephone 100 according to the age group estimated in step 13 based on the volume of the installation environment.

0040As described above, according to the telephone 100 according to the first embodiment, the volume is set according to the estimated age group of the user based on the volume of the installation environment of the telephone 100. Therefore, even when the user and the installation environment are unspecified, the optimum volume can be provided to the user.

0041(Embodiment 2) The volume set by the volume setting unit 15 of the second embodiment has frequency characteristics according to the age group. That is, in the present embodiment, the volume differs depending on the frequency band of the output sound. For example, as people grow older, it becomes more difficult to hear high frequency sounds. Therefore, for example, when the age group estimated by the estimation unit 13 is a predetermined elderly age group, the volume setting unit 15 of the second embodiment sets the volume of the predetermined high frequency band in the elderly. Increase the volume compared to the volume for users of no age group. In this way, the volume setting unit 15 of the second embodiment does not always add a uniform added volume regardless of the frequency band of the output sound, but adds an added volume according to the frequency band of the output sound. .. In the present embodiment, the age group-specific volume storage unit 11 stores information indicating the added volume for each predetermined frequency band for each age group.

0042In addition, the audibility of sound with respect to frequency differs between men and women. Therefore, the volume set by the volume setting unit 15 may have frequency characteristics according to the age group and gender. In this case, the estimation unit 13 compares the feature information of the face image acquired by the image acquisition unit 12 with the feature information stored by the learning result storage unit 10, and estimates the gender in addition to the age group of the user. .. Further, in this case, the learning result storage unit 10 of the second embodiment stores the learning result data for the feature information of the facial image for each predetermined age group and gender. That is, the learning result data is, for example, learning result data for teenage men, learning result data for teenage women, learning result data for men in their 20s, learning result data for women in their 20s, etc., by age group and gender. It is the data of. The learning result storage unit 10 obtains data indicating characteristic information obtained by machine learning using face image data of a plurality of persons whose gender and age group are known as teacher data, for example, of the gender and age group. It is stored as learning result data about the feature information of the face image. In addition, the age group-specific volume storage unit 11 stores information indicating the added volume for each predetermined frequency band for each age group and gender.

0043As described above, according to the telephone 100 according to the second embodiment, in addition to the above-mentioned effects of the telephone according to the first embodiment, the volume can be appropriately adjusted according to the frequency band so that the user can easily hear the telephone.

0044(Embodiment 3) Next, the third embodiment will be described. In the above-described embodiment, the volume output by the telephone is determined based on the measured volume of the installation environment. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the volume output by the telephone is optimized based on the volume change instruction by the user. In the following description, components substantially the same as those in the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

0045FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the telephone 300 according to the third embodiment. The telephone 300 has a learning result storage unit 10, an image acquisition unit 12, an estimation unit 13, an age group-specific volume storage unit 20, a volume change unit 21, and a volume setting unit 22. The hardware configuration of the telephone 300 is the same as the hardware configuration of the telephone 100 shown in FIG. Further, the volume changing unit 21 and the volume setting unit 22 can be realized by executing a program under the control of the control unit 108, for example. More specifically, the program stored in the storage unit 109 is executed and realized under the control of the control unit 108. Further, the volume changing unit 21 and the volume setting unit 22 are not limited to being realized by software by a program, but may be realized by any combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Further, the age group-specific volume storage unit 20 is realized by, for example, the storage unit 109.

0046The age group-specific volume storage unit 20 stores information indicating output volume predetermined according to the age group as information indicating the correspondence relationship between the age group and the volume. For example, the age group-specific volume storage unit 20 associates the first output volume with the first age group, and is older than the first age group than the first output volume with respect to the second age group. Stores information corresponding to the large second output volume. Each age group in the volume storage unit 20 for each age group corresponds to the age group of the learning result data stored in the learning result storage unit 10.

0047The volume change unit 21 receives the volume change instruction input by the user operating the input unit 103. Further, the volume changing unit 21 changes the volume set by the volume setting unit 22 according to the received change instruction. When the user wants to change the output volume set by the volume setting unit 22, the user operates the input unit 103 to perform an operation for changing the volume. Specifically, the user performs an operation of designating the changed volume. The volume changing unit 21 notifies the volume setting unit 22 of the changed volume.

0048The volume setting unit 22 sets the output volume of the telephone 300 to a volume corresponding to the age group estimated by the estimation unit 13 among the volumes predetermined according to the age group. Further, when the volume is changed by the volume changing unit 21, the volume setting unit 22 changes a predetermined volume according to the age group used at the time of setting the volume according to the change instruction. For example, when the volume change unit 21 changes the volume, the volume setting unit 22 updates the output volume for each age group stored in the age group-specific volume storage unit 20 in response to the change instruction. In the present embodiment, the volume is updated when a predetermined update condition is satisfied. That is, after the update condition is satisfied and the update is performed, the volume setting unit 22 sets the volume using the updated volume instead of the volume initially stored by the age group volume storage unit 20. To do.

0049For example, when the change instruction is an instruction to change the volume to a volume higher than the volume set by the volume setting unit 15, it is assumed that the installation environment of the telephone 300 is noisy. Further, for example, when the change instruction is an instruction to change the volume to a volume lower than the volume set by the volume setting unit 15, it is assumed that the installation environment of the telephone 300 is quiet. The volume is updated when a predetermined update condition is satisfied. For example, the volume setting unit 22 may use the volume changed to a volume higher than the initial volume as the output volume when a change instruction to increase the volume is given in all age groups. Further, for example, the volume setting unit 22 may use the volume changed to a volume lower than the initial volume as the output volume when a change instruction to reduce the volume is given in all age groups.

0050Next, the operation related to the volume setting in the telephone 300 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation related to the volume setting in the telephone 300. As shown in FIG. 7, the present embodiment differs from the flowchart of FIG. 5 in that steps 14 and later of the flowchart of the telephone 100 shown in FIG. 5 are replaced with steps 20 to 25. Hereinafter, the description of the overlapping steps will be omitted, and the operations after step 20 will be described.

0051In the flowchart shown in FIG. 7, after step 13, the process proceeds to step 20. In step 20 (S20), the volume setting unit 22 sets the output volume of the telephone 300 to the volume corresponding to the age group estimated in step 13 among the volumes for each age group stored by the age group volume storage unit 20. Set. When the volume for each age group stored in the volume storage unit 20 for each age group is updated, the volume setting unit 22 sets the volume based on the updated volume.

0052In step 21 (S21), the volume change unit 21 determines whether or not the volume change instruction from the user has been received. When the volume changing unit 21 receives the change instruction, the process proceeds to step 22. If the volume change unit 21 has not received the change instruction, the process proceeds to step 25.

0053In step 22 (S22), the volume changing unit 21 changes the output volume set in step 20 according to the received change instruction. After that, the process proceeds to step 23.

0054In step 23 (S23), the volume setting unit 22 determines whether or not the above-mentioned update condition for updating the volume for each age group stored by the age group-specific volume storage unit 20 is satisfied, and the update condition. If is satisfied, the process proceeds to step 24. If the update condition is not satisfied, the volume setting process ends.

0055In step 24 (S24), the volume setting unit 22 updates the volume for each age group stored in the age group-specific volume storage unit 20. As a result, from the next time onward, the volume setting unit 22 will set the volume based on the updated volume.

0056On the other hand, in step 25 (S25), the control unit 108 determines whether or not the use of the telephone 300 has ended. The control unit 108 determines, for example, whether or not a predetermined termination condition is satisfied. The predetermined termination condition corresponds to, for example, detection of an on-hook state. If the use of the telephone 300 is not finished, the process returns to step 21, and if the use of the telephone 300 is finished, the volume setting process is finished.

0057As described above, according to the telephone 300 according to the third embodiment, the volume output by the telephone is optimized based on the instruction for changing the volume by the user. Therefore, even when the user and the installation environment are unspecified, the optimum volume can be provided to the user. In addition, also in this embodiment, the configuration described as the second embodiment may be adopted.

0058(Embodiment 4) Next, the fourth embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, when the user changes the volume set by the volume setting unit by a change instruction, the volume setting unit sets the changed volume at the next use of the user. It differs from the above-described embodiment. The same reference numerals are given to the components substantially the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and duplicate description will be omitted.

0059FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of the telephone 400 according to the fourth embodiment. The telephone 400 is used by the learning result storage unit 10, the age group volume storage unit 11, the image acquisition unit 12, the estimation unit 13, the volume measurement unit 14, the volume setting unit 15, and the volume change unit 21. It has a volume storage unit 30 for each person and a user identification unit 31. The hardware configuration of the telephone 400 is the same as the hardware configuration of the telephone 100 shown in FIG. Further, the user identification unit 31 can be realized by executing a program under the control of the control unit 108, for example. More specifically, the program stored in the storage unit 109 is executed and realized under the control of the control unit 108. Further, the user identification unit 31 is not limited to being realized by software by a program, and may be realized by a combination of hardware, firmware, software, or the like. Further, the user-specific volume storage unit 30 is realized by, for example, the storage unit 109.

0060The user-specific volume storage unit 30 stores the changed volume when the volume is changed by the volume changing unit 21 in association with the identification information for identifying the changed user. In the present embodiment, the identification information is a face image acquired by the image acquisition unit 12 for estimating the age group. Therefore, when the volume changing unit 21 of the present embodiment changes the volume according to the received change instruction, the information indicating the changed volume and the identification information are associated and stored in the user-specific volume storage unit 30. ..

0061The user identification unit 31 identifies the user based on the identification information. In the present embodiment, the user identification unit 31 collates the face image acquired by the image acquisition unit 12 with the face image stored by the user-specific volume storage unit 30 in association with the volume, and the image acquisition unit 12 Determines whether or not the face represented by the face image acquired by the user matches the face represented by any of the face images stored in the user-specific volume storage unit 30. Here, the match is not limited to a perfect match, but includes a case where the match is more than a predetermined degree of similarity. For example, the user identification unit 31 determines the degree of similarity between the feature information of the face image acquired by the image acquisition unit 12 and the feature information of the face image stored in the volume storage unit 30 for each user, thereby determining the user. Is a user corresponding to the face image stored in the volume storage unit 30 for each user. In this way, the user identification unit 31 identifies whether or not the user is a user whose volume setting value is already stored in the user-specific volume storage unit 30.

0062When the user identification unit 31 succeeds in identifying the user, that is, the face represented by the face image acquired by the image acquisition unit 12 is represented by the face image stored in the user-specific volume storage unit 30. If it matches, the identified user is notified to the volume setting unit 15.

0063In the present embodiment, the user identification unit 31 uses the face image as the identification information, but the user may be identified by other types of identification information. For example, identification information such as a character string or a number string for identifying a user may be used. In this case, the user-specific volume storage unit 30 stores the volume changed by the volume change unit 21 in association with identification information such as a character string or a number string. When using information other than the face image as the identification information, an identification information acquisition unit may be provided to acquire the identification information. This identification information acquisition unit reads, for example, the identification information stored in a storage medium such as an IC (integrated circuit) card or a magnetic card used by the user when using the telephone 400.

0064Further, when the user is identified by the user identification unit 31, the volume setting unit 15 of the present embodiment identifies the volume used by the telephone 400 among the volumes stored by the user-specific volume storage unit 30. Set the volume to correspond to the user. That is, in the present embodiment, when the user identification unit 31 succeeds in identifying the user, the volume setting unit 15 sets the volume to be stored by the user-specific volume storage unit 30, and the user identification unit 31 sets the volume to be stored. If the user identification fails, the added volume corresponding to the age group estimated by the estimation unit 13 among the added volumes stored in the volume storage unit 11 for each age group is added to the volume measured by the volume measuring unit 14. Set to the added volume.

0065The estimation unit 13 of the present embodiment does not perform the estimation process when the user identification unit 31 succeeds in identification. That is, when the estimation unit 13 of the present embodiment fails to identify the user, that is, any face in which the face represented by the face image acquired by the image acquisition unit 3 is stored in the user-specific volume storage unit 30. If the face does not match the face shown in the image, the age group of the user of the telephone 400 is estimated from the face image acquired by the image acquisition unit 12.

0066Next, the operation related to the volume setting in the telephone 400 will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation related to the volume setting in the telephone 400. As shown in FIG. 9, the present embodiment differs from the flowchart of FIG. 5 in that steps 13 and later of the flowchart of the telephone 100 shown in FIG. 5 are replaced with steps 30 to 37. Hereinafter, the description of the overlapping steps will be omitted, and the operations after step 30 will be described.

0067In the flowchart shown in FIG. 9, after step 12, the process proceeds to step 30. In step 30 (S30), the user identification unit 31 performs user identification processing on the face image acquired in step 12. If the user identification unit 31 succeeds in identifying the user, the process proceeds to step 31. If the user identification unit 31 fails to identify the user, the process proceeds to step 32.

0068In step 31 (S31), the volume setting unit 15 sets the volume used by the telephone 400 to the volume corresponding to the identified user among the volumes stored by the user-specific volume storage unit 30. After that, the process proceeds to step 34.

0069On the other hand, in step 32 (S32), as in step 13, the estimation unit 13 estimates the age group of the user of the telephone 100 from the face image acquired by the image acquisition unit 12. After that, in step 33 (S33), as in step 14 (S14), the volume setting unit 15 sets the volume used by the telephone 100 according to the age group based on the volume of the installation environment. After that, the process proceeds to step 34.

0070In step 34 (S34), as in step 21, the volume changing unit 21 determines whether or not the volume change instruction from the user has been received. When the volume changing unit 21 receives the change instruction, the process proceeds to step 35. If the volume changing unit 21 has not received the change instruction, the process proceeds to step 37.

0071In step 35 (S35), as in step 22, the volume changing unit 21 changes the output volume set in step 31 or step 33 according to the received change instruction. After that, the process proceeds to step 36.

0072In step 36 (S36), the volume changing unit 21 stores the information indicating the changed volume and the face image acquired in step 12 in the user-specific volume storage unit 30 in association with each other. As a result, from the next time onward, the volume specified by the user will be set for the user.

0073On the other hand, in step 37 (S37), as in step 25, the control unit 108 determines whether or not the use of the telephone 400 has ended. If the use of the telephone 400 is not finished, the process returns to step 34, and if the use of the telephone 400 is finished, the volume setting process is finished.

0074As described above, according to the telephone 300 according to the fourth embodiment, when the user gives an instruction to change the volume, the changed volume according to the instruction and the identification information of the user are stored in association with each other. Then, when the user uses it next time, the desired volume at the time of the previous use is automatically set. Therefore, the convenience for each user can be improved. In addition, also in this embodiment, the configuration described as the second embodiment may be adopted. Further, in the present embodiment, the configuration in which the volume output by the telephone is determined based on the measured volume of the installation environment is shown. As in the third embodiment, the volume output by the telephone may be optimized based on the instruction to change the volume by the user.

0075Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be appropriately modified without departing from the spirit. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the estimation process is performed based on the face image, but the estimation process may be performed based on the body image including the face, not limited to the face image. In this case, for example, the learning result storage unit 10 stores the learning result data about the feature information of the body image including the face for each predetermined age group. In addition, the image acquisition unit 12 acquires a body image including the user's face. In addition, the estimation unit 13 compares the feature information of the body image acquired by the image acquisition unit 12 with the feature information stored in the learning result storage unit 10 to estimate the age group of the user. In addition to the age group, gender may be estimated based on the body image including the face. In this way, by using the image used for estimation as a body image, the contour such as the posture and height of the user and the clothes can be used as feature information for estimation, so that the estimation accuracy can be improved. You can expect it.

0076Further, for example, in the above-described embodiment, the image pickup of the camera 101 is started when the handset 105 is lifted, but the operation such as the image capture of the camera 101 and the detection of the face image from the image is performed by the handset 105. It may be done regardless of lifting.

0077Further, in the above-described embodiment, the telephone is described as having each configuration shown in FIGS. 1, 4, 6 or 8, but a part of the configuration may be provided by another device such as a server capable of communicating with the telephone. You may prepare. That is, the telephone system including the telephone may have each configuration shown in FIGS. 1, 4, 6 or 8.

0078Programs can also be stored and supplied to a computer using various types of non-transitory computer readable medium. Non-transient computer-readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-temporary computer-readable media include magnetic recording media (eg flexible disks, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (eg magneto-optical disks), CD-ROMs (Read Only Memory), CD-Rs, Includes CD-R / W, semiconductor memory (eg, mask ROM, PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flash ROM, RAM (random access memory)). The program is also a transitory computer readable of various types. It may be supplied to the computer by medium). Examples of temporary computer-readable media include electrical, optical, and electromagnetic waves. The temporary computer-readable medium can supply the program to the computer via a wired communication path such as an electric wire and an optical fiber, or a wireless communication path.

00791,100,300,400 phones 2, 10 Learning result memory 3, 12 Image acquisition department 4, 13 Estimator 5, 15, 22 Volume setting Volume storage by age group 11 and 20 14 Volume measurement unit 21 Volume change section 21 Volume change section 30 Volume storage for each user 31 User Identification Department 101 camera 102 microphone 103 Input section 104 Display 105 handset 106 Handset detector 107 speaker 108 Control unit 109 Memory