JP2006217321A - Head set and communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a head set where noise canceling can be carried out by performing switching so as to collect peripheral noise using a microphone for speaking in listening to music, and to provide a communication system using the same. <P>SOLUTION: The microphone 108 is provided with a mechanism capable of switching sound collecting directivity so as to collect peripheral noise in the case of listening to the music. The peripheral noise collected by the microphone 108 is amplified by an amplifier part 109, thereafter a control part 103 controls a voice processing part 110 to invert the phase of the amplified peripheral noise and delays it. Moreover, a mixer part 104 adjusts levels of the output of the voice processing part 110 and that of a reproduction part 102, and mixes and outputs them. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for reducing ambient noise in a viewing environment that can be leaked from a speaker mounted on a head, for a headset used for a voice call by a telephone or the like and a headphone used for music reproduction by an audio device.

  In recent years, with the spread of mobile phones and portable audio devices, for example, telephone headsets and stereo headphones that are used by being connected to them have become widespread, and various shapes and specifications are distributed in the market. In particular, there is a demand for headphones having a highly sealed structure that blocks ambient noise in the usage environment as a differentiating function, and headphones having an echo cancellation function that actively cancels ambient noise by an electric circuit. In addition, with the widespread use of both mobile phones and portable audio devices, there is a need for headsets that can be connected to both devices and can be used both as headsets for calls and headphones for listening to music.

  For example, a conventional headset using the wireless communication technology Bluetooth (Bluetooth) realizes both an audio playback function and a call function with a block configuration as shown in FIG. That is, FIG. 3 is a functional block schematic diagram of a conventional headset / audio headphone.

  First, the operation of reproducing an audio signal using a conventional headset / audio headphone will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, an audio input unit 301 is connected to an audio playback device (not shown) and is an input unit for inputting an audio signal. The audio signal input to the audio input unit 301 is reproduced by the speaker 305 via the switch unit 304 that is switched and controlled by the control unit 303 after the reproduction unit 302 performs reproduction processing for reproduction by the speaker. . The above is the operation of reproducing the audio signal in the conventional headset / audio headphone.

  Next, the operation when performing call communication using the conventional headset / audio headphone will be described with reference to FIG. A communication unit 306 is connected to a communication device (not shown) such as a mobile phone, and is a communication interface unit that transmits and receives call voice. The incoming call output from the communication unit 306 is reproduced by the speaker 305 via the switch unit 304 that is switched and controlled by the control unit 303 after the communication data processing unit 307 performs reproduction processing for reproduction by the speaker. The On the other hand, the outgoing call voice collected by the microphone 308 is amplified by the amplification unit 309, processed into communication data by the communication data processing unit 307, and then output to the communication device via the communication unit 306. This allows the user to make a two-way call.

  As described above, in the conventional headset / audio headphone, the control unit switches and controls the audio signal to be reproduced in accordance with the audio reproduction and the call communication.

  In the conventional headset / audio headphones, there is a problem that ambient noise leaks from the speaker 305 mounted on the user's head and it is difficult to hear both audio reproduction and incoming call communication.

  In order to solve such a problem, for example, in Patent Document 1, the volume of the incoming call voice reproduced from the speaker is increased or decreased according to the volume of the outgoing call voice collected from the microphone, so that the user can increase the volume of his speech. Means have been devised to adjust the ringtone volume by adjusting.

In addition, a dedicated microphone for collecting ambient noise in the vicinity of the speaker is provided, and the noise canceling function that cancels the ambient noise heard by the viewer by mixing the ambient noise collected by the microphone with the sound reproduced by the speaker Headphones equipped with are being developed.
JP 2003-198719 A

  However, since the noise canceling sound collecting microphone is not suitable for collecting call voice, it is necessary to provide a microphone separately for the calling headset, which causes a problem in terms of cost.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a headset that can be switched to collect ambient noise using a microphone for calls when listening to music and can cancel the noise. It is an object to provide a communication system.

  In order to achieve the above object, a headset according to the present invention is a headset used for music playback and telephone calls, wherein a playback unit that plays back an audio signal, a microphone that collects sound, and an output of the microphone Amplifying unit for amplifying, a communication unit connected to a communication line for communication for communication, and connected to the communication unit for reproducing audio data output from the communication unit and communicating from the output of the amplifying unit A communication data processing unit for generating data; an audio processing unit for phase-converting the output of the amplification unit; and a mixer unit for mixing the outputs of the reproduction unit, the communication data processing unit, and the audio processing unit And a control unit that controls the playback unit, the communication data processing, the voice processing unit, and the mixer unit according to an operation mode of either music playback or telephone conversation. The control unit controls a volume level when the mixer unit mixes the output of the reproduction unit and the output of the communication data processing and the output of the audio processing unit according to the operation mode, respectively. To do.

  Since the headset of the present invention can be used for collecting noise for canceling noise by setting the function of switching the sound collection directivity of the microphone for calling, compared to providing a dedicated microphone for noise cancellation. An increase in cost can be suppressed.

  Hereinafter, headsets according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a headset according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the headset of the present invention includes an audio input unit 101, a playback unit 102 that plays back audio, a control unit 103 that controls the entire system including the playback unit 102, and a communication connected to a communication device for calls. Unit 106, communication data processing unit 107 that generates communication data, microphone 108 that collects voice for communication, amplification unit 109 that amplifies the sound collected by microphone 108, and amplification unit according to the output of control unit 103 Based on the control signal output of the control unit 103, the audio processing unit 110 that controls the phase and delay of the output collected sound, the output of the reproduction unit 102, the output of the communication data processing unit 107, and the output of the audio processing unit 110 A mixer unit 104 that adjusts and mixes the levels is included.

  Here, the operation in which the audio signal input from the audio input unit 101 is reproduced in the reproduction unit 102 and the operation in which the communication unit 106, the communication data processing unit 107, the microphone 108, and the amplification unit 109 perform call communication are described above. Since it is the same as the operation of the conventional headset / audio headphone shown in FIG.

  During audio reproduction, first, the sound collection directivity is switched so that the microphone 108 can collect ambient noise. The sound collection directivity can be switched, for example, by changing the sound collection direction by providing a rotation mechanism in the microphone, or by providing a sliding shutter mechanism in the ventilation hole of the microphone 108. The ambient noise collected by the microphone 108 is amplified by the amplification unit 109 and then input to the audio processing unit 110. The audio processing unit 110 inverts the phase of the input ambient noise signal and delays the ambient noise signal by a time corresponding to the output of the control unit 103. Then, the reproduction audio signal output from the reproduction unit 102 and the output of the audio processing unit 110 are mixed in the mixer unit 104 and reproduced by the speaker 105. Here, since the ambient noise collected by the microphone 108 is reproduced from the speaker with an opposite phase and delayed in the audio processing unit 110, the noise signal reproduced from the speaker and the ambient noise leaked from the speaker are heard by the viewer. Is canceled and the volume level of noise is relatively suppressed.

  Further, at the time of call communication, the microphone 108 switches the sound collection directivity in a direction suitable for collecting the outgoing sound. At this time, the viewer adjusts so that the ambient noise is also collected appropriately. Then, the control unit 103 performs control so that the incoming call voice output from the communication data processing unit 107 and the output from the voice processing unit 110 are mixed and reproduced by the mixer unit 104. As a result, the conversation partner can reproduce from the speaker 105 the sound of his / her voice and the ambient noise in opposite phases while minimizing the uncomfortable feeling caused by the ambient noise collected by the microphone. A noise canceling effect can be obtained in the same way as during audio playback.

  As described above, by providing a mechanism that can switch and adjust the directivity of the sound collecting microphone for call communication, the call microphone can also be used for noise cancellation.

  Note that the audio to be reproduced may be connected via the communication unit 206 as in the headset shown in FIG. 2 in addition to being directly input from the audio device. In this case, the communication data processing unit 207 identifies whether the incoming signal input from the communication unit 206 is a call voice or an audio signal according to the control signal output of the control unit 203, and if it is an audio signal, outputs it to the reproduction unit 202 To work.

  The present invention can be used as both a headset for calls such as mobile phones and headphones for audio playback of portable audio devices, and has a noise canceling function that applies a microphone for calls, thereby preventing viewing disturbance due to ambient noise. An inexpensive and repressible headset can be realized. As a result, the user can switch between telephone conversation and audio viewing while wearing the same headset, thereby improving convenience.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a headset according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the headset into which the audio | voice is input via a communication part. Block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional headset / audio headphone

Explanation of symbols

101 Audio input unit 102, 202 Playback unit 103, 203 Control unit 104, 204 Mixer unit 105, 205 Speaker 106, 206 Communication unit 107, 207 Communication data processing unit 108, 208 Microphone 109, 209 Amplification unit 110, 210 Audio processing unit

Claims (5)

A headset for music playback and calls,
A playback unit for playing back audio signals;
A microphone that collects audio,
An amplifier for amplifying the output of the microphone;
A communication unit connected to a communication line and performing communication for a call;
A communication data processing unit that is connected to the communication unit and reproduces the audio data output from the communication unit, and generates communication data from the output of the amplification unit;
An audio processing unit for phase-converting the output of the amplification unit to a reverse phase;
A mixer unit that mixes outputs of the reproduction unit, the communication data processing unit, and the audio processing unit;
A control unit for controlling the playback unit, the communication data processing, the voice processing unit, and the mixer unit according to an operation mode of either music playback or telephone call;
The control unit controls a volume level when the mixer unit mixes the output of the reproduction unit and the output of the communication data processing and the output of the audio processing unit according to the operation mode, respectively. Headset communication system. The headset according to claim 1, wherein the communication data processing unit extracts an audio signal from an output of the communication unit, and the reproduction unit decodes the output of the communication data processing unit. The sound processing unit performs phase conversion of the output sound of the amplifying unit in reverse phase according to the control signal output of the control unit, and delays the phase-converted sound according to the control signal output. The headset according to claim 1 and claim 2. The headset according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the microphone can switch the directivity of sound to be collected. A communication system using the headset according to claim 1.

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