JP2013098731A - Information processor and correction control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processor capable of easily correcting sound quality of an earphone.SOLUTION: According to an embodiment, measurement sound output means outputs first and second measurement sounds at least one of which includes channel identification information respectively from a left channel and a right channel to an output terminal. Measurement means collects the measurement sound outputted from an earphone or a headphone connected to the output terminal to measure acoustic property of the earphone or the headphone. Left and right determination means determines of which of left and right the collected measurement sound is on the basis of the detection of the channel identification information. Correction information generation means generates first correction information on the basis of the measured acoustic property when left is determined in the determination means, and generates second correction information on the basis of the measured acoustic property when right is determined in the determination means.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to an information processing apparatus and a correction control method for correcting earphone sound quality.

  In recent years, various information processing apparatuses such as a personal computer (PC) and a tablet PC have been developed. Many information processing apparatuses of this type can be connected to an external audio output device (hereinafter referred to as an earphone) such as an earphone or a headphone to reproduce music or the like. In addition, the user can listen to music reproduced by the information processing apparatus via the earphone.

  Generally, the sound quality of music output from an earphone varies depending on the type of earphone used by the user.

JP 2007-235809 A

  Also, since the right and left sound quality of the earphones is not necessarily the same, even if the same type of earphones, there are some in which the left and right sound quality varies greatly. Therefore, in order to obtain high-quality earphone playback sound, it is necessary to correct the sound quality of each of the left and right earphones.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus and a correction control method that can easily correct the sound quality of an earphone.

  According to the embodiment, the information processing apparatus includes a measurement sound output unit, a measurement unit, a left / right determination unit, a correction information generation unit, and a correction unit. The measurement sound output means outputs the first and second measurement sounds, at least one of which includes channel identification information, from the left channel and the right channel to the output terminal, respectively. The measuring means measures the acoustic characteristics of the earphone or headphone by collecting the measurement sound output from the earphone or headphone connected to the output terminal. The left / right determination means determines whether the collected sound is the left or right sound based on detection of channel identification information. The correction information generation unit generates first correction information based on the measured acoustic characteristics when the determination unit determines left, and the correction information generation unit measures the measurement when the determination unit determines right Second correction information is generated based on the acoustic characteristics. The correcting means corrects the frequency characteristic of the sound signal of the left channel output from the audio reproducing unit based on the first correction information, and the frequency characteristic of the sound signal of the right channel output from the audio reproducing unit is Correction is performed based on the second correction information.

1 is a diagram illustrating an external appearance of an information processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of an information processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structural example of the sound quality improvement program which operate | moves with the information processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of a structure of the measurement sound used with the information processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of acoustic characteristic measurement processing executed by the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. The flowchart for demonstrating the procedure of the left-right identification process performed by the information processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of a structure of the measurement sound used with the information processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows the other example of a structure of the measurement sound used with the information processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of the acoustic characteristic measurement process performed by the information processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of acoustic characteristic measurement processing executed by the information processing apparatus according to the third embodiment. The flowchart for demonstrating the procedure of the left-right identification process performed by the information processing apparatus of 3rd Embodiment. The figure which shows the other example of a structure of the measurement sound which can be used in each 1st, 2nd, 3rd embodiment. The figure which shows the further another example of the structure of the measurement sound which can be used in each 1st, 2nd, 3rd embodiment. The figure which shows the further another example of the structure of the measurement sound which can be used in each 1st, 2nd, 3rd embodiment. The figure for demonstrating an example of the property of the identification signal which can be used in each 1st, 2nd, 3rd embodiment.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. This information processing apparatus can be realized as, for example, a laptop personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a smartphone, or a PDA. In the following, it is assumed that this information processing apparatus is realized as a laptop personal computer 1 (hereinafter referred to as PC1).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the PC 1 is composed of a computer main body 11 and a display unit 12. The display unit 12 is attached to the computer main body 11 so as to be rotatable between an open position where the upper surface of the computer main body 11 is exposed and a closed position covering the upper surface of the computer main body 11. The display unit 12 includes an LCD (Liquid crystal display) 13 and a microphone 16. The microphone 16 is provided in the front part of the display unit 12 so that sound can be collected efficiently. The computer main body 11 has a thin box-shaped housing, and a keyboard 14 and a touch pad 15 are arranged on the upper surface thereof. Further, an output terminal 113 for outputting a sound signal to which an earphone can be connected is provided on the side surface of the housing of the computer main body 11.

  The earphone includes an input terminal 17 that can be connected to the output terminal 113, and a sound output unit 18 and a sound output unit 19 that output sound. Sound reproduced by the PC 1 is input from the input terminal 17 to the earphone via the output terminal 113. The sound input to the earphone is output from the sound output unit 18 and the sound output unit 19. The sound output unit 18 and the sound output unit 19 output a sound corresponding to the left (L) channel sound signal and a sound corresponding to the right (R) channel sound signal.

  When the user listens to the sound sent from the PC 1 using the earphone, the input terminal 17 is connected to the output terminal 113 of the PC 1, and the sound output unit 18 (hereinafter also referred to as L side) and the sound output unit 19 ( Hereinafter, each of them (also referred to as the R side) (hereinafter also referred to as the left and right of the earphone) is applied to the left and right ears of the user. Thereby, the user can listen to the sound in stereo. However, the sound quality of the sound that the user can listen depends on the performance (acoustic characteristics) of the earphone used by the user. Therefore, if the user is using an earphone that is inexpensive and has low performance, the user can only listen to low-quality sound. Even in such a case, the user can listen to high-quality sound by improving the sound quality of the earphone. Further, the performance of the earphone may be different between the L side and the R side. That is, the sound quality of the sound output from each of the L side and the R side is different. Therefore, the user can listen to a higher quality sound by improving the sound quality on the L side and the R side, respectively.

  In the present embodiment, sound output from the left and right sides of the earphone is collected by the microphone 16, and correction filters corresponding to the left and right sides of the earphone are created from the acoustic characteristics of the collected sound, and the sound sent from the PC 1 to the earphone. By applying a correction filter, the sound quality of the sound output from the left and right sides of the earphone is improved. Further, when the sound output from the sound output unit 18 of the earphone is collected by the microphone 16, the user brings the sound output unit 18 closer to the microphone 16 as shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, sound collection is performed with the sound output unit 18 and the microphone 16 in contact with each other. In this way, even a general user can easily measure the left and right acoustic characteristics of the earphone with high accuracy at low cost.

  However, as shown in FIG. 1, when the user brings the sound output unit 18 close to the microphone 16, the user must determine whether the sound output unit 18 is on the L side or the R side. If the user mistakenly determines that the sound output unit 18 is on the R side, the sound output unit 18 is brought close to the microphone 16, and a correction filter corresponding to the R side is created, the sound output unit 18 on the L side The output sound is an L-side sound signal to which a correction filter corresponding to the R-side is applied. Therefore, in such a case, the right and left sound quality of the earphone cannot be improved correctly. Further, when the user identifies the left and right of the earphone, the user identifies the left and right by looking at the notation such as “L” and “R” of the earphone that can distinguish the left and right of the earphone, but it is difficult to identify the notation small. Or, the notation may be difficult to see due to the earphone design specifications. For this reason, the user may take time to distinguish the left and right earphones. Furthermore, the notation for identifying left and right may be displayed in a place where the user cannot find out immediately, or may not be written on the earphone. For this reason, the user may not be able to correctly determine the left and right of the earphone. In this embodiment, it is possible to improve the sound output from the left and right sides of the earphone by creating correction filters corresponding to the left and right sides of the earphone without determining whether the earphone is left or right by the user.

Next, the system configuration of the PC 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the PC 1 includes an LCD 13, a CPU (Central processing unit) 101, a North Bridge 102, a main memory 103, a South Bridge 104, a GPU (Graphics processing unit) 105, a sound controller 106, a BIOS (Basic input / output). system) -ROM (Read only memory) 107, LAN (Local area network) controller 108, HDD (Hard disk drive) 109, ODD (Optical disc drive) 110 and EC / KBC (Embedded controller / Keyboard controller) 111, speaker 112 , An output terminal 113, a microphone 16, and the like.

  The CPU 101 is a processor that controls the operation of the PC 1 and executes various programs loaded from the HDD 109 to the main memory 103. Among the various programs executed by the CPU 101, there are an OS (Operating system) 121 that manages resource management, a media player 122 and a sound quality improvement program 202, which will be described later, that operate under the OS 121. The media player 122 is application software for reproducing a sound file. The sound quality improvement program 202 is application software for improving the sound quality of the sound output from the earphone. The CPU 101 also executes the BIOS stored in the BIOS-ROM 107. The BIOS is a program for hardware control.

  The north bridge 102 operates as a bridge device that connects between the CPU 101 and the south bridge 104 and also operates as a memory controller that controls access to the main memory 103. The north bridge 102 has a function of executing communication with the GPU 105.

  The GPU 105 is a display controller that performs image display on the LCD 13 incorporated in the display unit 12. Further, the GPU 105 includes an accelerator that draws an image to be displayed by various programs in place of the CPU 101.

  The south bridge 104 operates as a memory controller that controls access to the BIOS-ROM 107. Further, the south bridge 104 includes an IDE (Integrated Device Electronics) controller for controlling the HDD 109 and the ODD 110. Further, the south bridge 104 has a function of executing communication with the sound controller 106.

  The sound controller 106 is a sound source device, and outputs a digital signal to output audio data to be reproduced to a speaker 112 or an output terminal (earphone terminal) 113 (provided on the side surface of the casing of the computer main body 11). It has circuits such as a D / A converter that converts an electric signal and an amplifier that amplifies the electric signal. The sound controller 106 includes a circuit such as an A / D converter that converts an electric signal input from the microphone 16 (built in the computer main body 11 described above) into a digital signal.

  The EC / KBC 111 is a one-chip microcomputer in which an embedded controller for performing power management of the PC 1 and a keyboard controller for controlling the keyboard 14 and the touch pad 15 are integrated.

  The sound quality improvement program 202 may be an application executed by the media player 122, or may be a program that can operate even when the media player 122 is not executed.

Next, detailed functions of the sound quality improvement program 202 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 3, it is assumed that the sound quality improvement program 202 is executed in the media player 122. The sound quality improvement program 202 includes a signal measurement unit 210 and a correction / playback unit 220. The signal measurement unit 210 measures an input sound signal obtained by collecting sound (measurement sound) output from the sound output unit 18 or the sound output unit 19 on the L side or R side of the earphone by the microphone 16. The correction / playback unit 220 sends a sound signal to the output terminal 113.

The signal measurement unit 210 includes a measurement unit 211, a target characteristic generation unit 213, an L correction filter design unit 212A, an R correction filter design unit 212B, and an identification unit 214.
The measurement unit 211 is connected to the microphone 16 and the identification unit 214. The measurement unit 211 measures the acoustic characteristics of the earphone or the headphone by collecting the measurement sound output from the earphone or the headphone connected to the output terminal 113 with the microphone 16. Further, the acoustic characteristics of the input sound signal collected by the microphone 16 are measured. In other words, the measurement unit 211 measures the acoustic characteristics of the earphone using the input sound signal obtained by collecting the measurement sound with the microphone 16. Furthermore, the measurement unit 211 generates measurement data indicating the frequency characteristics of the input sound signal. The measurement unit 211 sends the acoustic characteristics of the measured input sound signal and the generated measurement data to the identification unit 214.

  The identification unit 214 is connected to the measurement unit 211, the L correction filter design unit 212A, and the L correction filter design unit 212B. The identification unit 214 identifies the left and right of the earphone based on information for identifying the left and right of the earphone included in the input sound signal (hereinafter also referred to as a key signal or channel identification information). That is, the identification unit 214 determines whether the collected measurement sound is left or right based on detection of channel identification information.

  Each of the L correction filter design unit 212A and the R correction filter design unit 212B is connected to an identification unit 214 and a target characteristic generation unit 213. The L correction filter design unit 212A is connected to the L correction filter 221A, and the R correction filter design unit 212B is connected to the R correction filter 221B. The L correction filter design unit 211A designs an L correction filter, and the R correction filter design unit 211B designs an R correction filter. When the identification unit 214 determines that it is left, the first correction information is generated based on the measured acoustic characteristic, and when it is determined that it is right, the second correction information is generated based on the measured acoustic characteristic. To do.

  Specifically, the L correction filter design unit 211A will be described. In the L correction filter design unit 211A, the measurement data sent from the measurement unit 211 via the identification unit 214 is the target characteristic generation unit 213 described later. The L correction filter 221 </ b> A that functions as an equalizer of the correction / reproduction unit 220 is designed so as to approach the target characteristic generated in step (b). Alternatively, the L correction filter design unit 211A generates a coefficient such as a parameter to be applied to the L correction filter 221A. The L correction filter designed by the L correction filter design unit 211A, or the L correction information and the L correction parameter are sent to the L correction filter 221A. As for the R correction filter design unit 211B, the R correction filter design unit 211B is configured so that the measurement data sent from the measurement unit 211 via the identification unit 214 is the target as in the L correction filter design unit 211A described above. The R correction filter 221B that functions as an equalizer of the correction / reproduction unit 220 is designed so as to approach the target characteristic generated by the characteristic generation unit 213. Alternatively, the R correction filter design unit 211B generates a coefficient such as a parameter applied to the R correction filter 221B. The R correction filter designed by the R correction filter design unit 211B, or the R correction information and the R correction parameter are sent to the R correction filter 221B.

  Further, the L correction filter design unit 212A generates an L correction parameter based on the difference between the target frequency characteristic data and the frequency characteristic measurement data of the input sound signal to be corrected. The L correction filter design unit 212A generates an L correction parameter for making the frequency characteristic of the earphone close to the target frequency characteristic. The correction parameter for L is, for example, a parameter used in a general parametric equalizer. Parameters used in the parametric equalizer are, for example, the center frequency, the width of the band to be adjusted, and the gain. The R correction filter design unit 212B generates an R correction parameter based on the difference between the target frequency characteristic data and the frequency characteristic measurement data of the input sound signal to be corrected. The R correction filter design unit 212B generates a correction parameter for R for bringing the frequency characteristic of the earphone closer to the target frequency characteristic. The correction parameter for R is, for example, a parameter used in a general parametric equalizer.

  The correction filter for L and the correction filter for R may be designed by one correction filter design unit having the functions of both the correction filter design unit for L 212A and the correction filter design unit for R 212B.

  The target characteristic generation unit 213 generates a target characteristic that is used when generating the correction filter and serves as a reference for the acoustic characteristic. As a method for generating the target characteristic, various methods such as a case where the frequency characteristic of a reference high-quality earphone prepared in advance is used as it is or a characteristic that is modified to a user's favorite characteristic can be used. A method of preparing a plurality of ideal characteristics and allowing the user to select them is also conceivable.

  Note that the measurement unit 211 may measure the sound pressure level of the sound based on the input sound signal input from the microphone 16 to the measurement unit 211 as a digital sound signal. And the measurement part 211 produces | generates the measurement data which show the frequency characteristic of an input sound signal based on the measured sound pressure level. Furthermore, the measurement unit 211 may temporarily store the generated measurement data indicating the frequency characteristics in a signal temporary storage unit (not shown).

  The correction / reproduction unit 220 includes an acoustic signal reproduction unit 222 including a transmission unit 222A, an L correction filter 221A, and an R correction filter 221B. The correction / playback unit 220 uses the correction filter for the acoustic characteristics of the earphones measured by the signal measurement unit 210 as a signal (hereinafter referred to as a measurement signal) included in the measurement sound used when measuring the acoustic characteristics of the earphones. This is applied to a sound signal such as different music (hereinafter referred to as a reproduction sound signal), and the reproduction sound signal passed through the correction filter is sent to the earphone. That is, the correction / reproduction unit 220 generates the frequency characteristic of the sound signal of the left channel output from the acoustic signal reproduction unit 222 based on the acoustic characteristic measured when the identification unit 214 determines that it is left. Correction is performed based on the first correction information, and the frequency characteristic of the right channel sound signal output from the acoustic signal reproduction unit 222 is generated based on the acoustic characteristic measured when the identification unit 214 determines that the signal is right. Correction is performed based on the second correction information. Further, the correction / reproduction unit 220 outputs the first and second measurement sounds from each of the left channel and the right channel to the output terminal 113, and at least one of the first and second measurement sounds is channel identification information. including.

  Each of the L correction filter 221 </ b> A and the R correction filter 221 </ b> B is connected to the acoustic signal reproduction unit 222 and the output terminal 113. The L correction filter 221A is connected to the L correction filter design unit 212A, and the R correction filter 221B is connected to the R correction filter design unit 212B. Each of the L correction filter 221A and the R correction filter 221B is, for example, a general parametric equalizer. The L correction filter 221A uses the L correction filter (L correction parameter) sent from the L correction filter design unit 212A to output a sound signal (hereinafter referred to as the left channel) to the L side of the earphone. (Referred to as sound signal). The R correction filter 221B uses the R correction filter (R correction parameter) sent from the R correction filter design unit 212B to output a sound signal (hereinafter, right channel) output to the R side of the earphone. (Referred to as sound signal). The L correction filter 221A and the R correction filter 221B may be replaced with one correction filter having the functions of both the L correction filter 221A and the R correction filter 221B.

  In addition, the earphone can output sound on two channels (2ch), and the correction / playback unit 220 sends a left channel sound signal to the sound output unit 18 on the L side of the earphone, and outputs sound on the R side of the earphone. The right channel sound signal is sent to the unit 19.

  The acoustic signal reproducing unit 222 is connected to the L correction filter 221A and the R correction filter 221B, and reproduces the measurement signal and the reproduced sound signal. Details of the measurement signal will be described later. The reproduced sound signal is a sound signal such as music or voice, and the user listens to the sound signal via an earphone. The transmitter 222A transmits the measurement signal or the reproduced sound signal to the output terminal 113 via the L correction filter 221A and the R correction filter 221B. When the measurement signal is transmitted from the transmitter 222A, the L correction filter 221A and the R correction filter 221B are set not to perform correction. Further, the transmitter 222A sends a left channel sound signal via the L correction filter 221A, and sends a right channel sound signal via the R correction filter 221B.

Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the detail of the measurement sound used when measuring the acoustic characteristic of an earphone is demonstrated.
In the present embodiment, as described above, the input terminal 17 of the earphone is connected to the output terminal 113 of the PC 1, and the measurement sound transmitted from the PC 1 to the earphone as the left channel sound signal and the right channel sound signal is the sound of the earphone. Output from each of the output unit 18 and the sound output unit 19, and the measurement sound is collected by the microphone 16, whereby the acoustic characteristics of the earphone are measured. Hereinafter, a sound signal composed of a plurality of measurement signals or a sound signal composed of signals other than the measurement signals in addition to the measurement signals will be referred to as measurement sound.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the measurement sound is configured using signals (measurement signals) having various frequency components for measuring the frequency characteristics of the earphone, for example. For example, a TSP (Time Stretched Pulse) signal can be used as the measurement signal. As another example, white noise (white noise) may be used as the measurement signal. Further, pink noise can be used as the measurement signal, but the measurement signal is not limited thereto.

In FIG. 4, the measurement sound represents a signal output on the left side in the figure earlier in time. The measurement sound 40 on the L side identifies the L side in a section earlier in time (hereinafter referred to as the first stage section) in the measurement sound, in addition to the measurement signals 44A, 44B, and 44E that are output a plurality of times. L key signal 42 is included. Similarly, the measurement sound 41 on the R side includes an R key signal 43 for identifying the R side in the first stage section in the measurement sound 41 in addition to the measurement signals 44F, 44G, and 44J output a plurality of times. It is out. The measurement signals 44A, 44B, 44E, 44F, 44G, and 44J are measurement signals having the same properties, but are different in the order in which they are output or measurement signals included in either the L side or the R side. It may be a measurement signal distinguished to indicate In FIG. 4, the measurement sound is output for a certain time until time t _3, but the length of time for which the measurement sound is output is the length of the measurement signal included in the measurement sound or the measurement signal. Since it depends on the number of times, the length of the key signal, and the like, the time during which the measurement sound is output can be appropriately determined by design, and is not necessarily constant.

  4 shows an example in which the measurement signal in the L measurement sound 40 and the measurement signal in the R measurement sound 41 each include a key signal. However, the key signal is included in the L measurement sound 40. It only needs to be included in at least one of the measurement signal and the measurement signal in the measurement sound 41 for R. That is, in the configuration of each of the L measurement sound 40 and the R measurement sound 41, the L key signal 42 is included in the L measurement sound 40 and the R key signal 43 is the R measurement sound. 41 or a configuration in which the L key signal 42 is not included in the L-side measurement sound 40 and the R key signal 43 is included in the R-side measurement sound 41; Any configuration may be used.

  Each of the L key signal 42 and the R key signal 43 is a section other than the first stage section, for example, a section in the middle of the measurement sound (hereinafter referred to as a middle section) or a time during the measurement sound. May be included in a later-stage section (hereinafter referred to as a subsequent section). However, when each of the L key signal 42 and the R key signal 43 is arranged in the first stage section, there is an effect that the identification result of the L side and the R side can be obtained earliest in time.

Next, a process for improving the sound quality of the earphone of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
Either right or left of the earphone is brought close to the microphone 16 by the user, and measurement of the measurement sound is started. In the measurement, a guide indicating the positional relationship between the earphone and the microphone 16 that can properly collect the sound output from the earphone with the microphone 16 may be shown to the user. The transmitter 222A transmits the measurement sound for L and the measurement sound for R as shown in FIG. 4 to the earphone (step S21). The L measurement sound and the R measurement sound are output as the left channel sound signal and the right channel sound signal from the L sound output unit 18 and the R sound output unit 19 of the earphone. Thus, there is an effect that the user can start measurement without discriminating the left and right of the earphone.

  Next, the measurement sound transmitted from the transmission unit 222A is output from the sound output unit 18 and the sound output unit 19, and collected by the microphone 16 as an input sound signal. The identification unit 214 identifies whether the measurement sound being measured is the L-side measurement sound or the R-side measurement sound based on the key signal included in the collected input sound signal (step S22). ). Next, the characteristics of the earphone are analyzed using the measurement signal included in the measurement sound (step S23). In addition, after analyzing the characteristic of the earphone in step S23, the left and right may be identified in step S22. Next, it is determined whether or not the characteristics on both sides of the earphone have been measured (step S24). When the measurement results of the characteristics on both sides are not obtained (NO in step S24), the process returns to step S21 in order to perform measurement on the side where measurement is not performed. Note that in order to measure the characteristics on both sides, the side on which the user is not measuring needs to be brought closer to the microphone 16, but the user does not need to determine the right and left of the earphones.

  When the measurement results of the characteristics on both sides are obtained (YES in step S24), the identification result identified in step S22 is associated with the analysis result of the characteristic obtained in step S23 (step S25). Note that step S25 may be performed before step S24. That is, after obtaining the characteristics on both sides, the identification result and the analysis result are not associated with each other, but after the analysis result of the characteristic is obtained in step S23, the identification result of the measurement sound and the analysis result of the measurement signal that have been measured are obtained. You may associate. Then, an L correction filter and an R correction filter are created based on the association result, and a normal reproduction sound signal (such as music by an audio reproduction unit such as the media player 122) is created using the correction filter. The left channel sound signal and the right channel sound signal included in the sound signal obtained by reproducing the audio data are corrected (step S26). Thereby, appropriate correction can be performed without correcting the left and right by mistake.

Next, the process of step S22 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.
Step 22A corresponding to step S22 includes step S91 and step S92. The left / right identification is performed based on a key signal included in the measurement sound. The key signal is included in a predetermined section of the measurement sound as described above with reference to FIG. Therefore, the identification unit 214 performs analysis for identifying left and right with respect to a predetermined section (identification section) including the key signal (step S91). Next, the identification unit 214 identifies left and right based on the analysis result, and outputs the identification result.

Thus, the right and left of the earphone are identified by including the L side and R side key signals in the measurement sound. Next, the key signal will be specifically described.
The left and right key signals are, for example, signals having a difference in bias of energy distribution in the key signal on the time axis, signals composed of sine waves or cosine waves having different frequencies, or signals having a bias in frequency band. Note that the key signal having a difference in the bias of the energy distribution will be described later with reference to FIG.

  When key signals consisting of sine waves or cosine waves with different frequencies are used, the key signals consisting of sine waves or cosine waves with different frequencies are sine waves or cosine waves that are separated in frequency within the measurement frequency range. The L key signal 42 is a 1 kHz sine wave and the R key signal 43 is a 4 kHz sine wave. Alternatively, the L key signal 42 and the R key signal 43 may be in a non-overtone relationship. For example, the L key signal 42 is a 1.2 kHz sine wave, and the R key signal 43 is a 4.2 kHz sine wave. Further, the key signal may be a composite sine wave. For example, the L key signal 42 is a composite sine wave of 1 kHz to 3 kHz, and the R key signal 43 is a composite sine wave of 4 kHz to 6 kHz.

  When a key signal with a biased frequency band is used, for example, the L key signal 42 is a signal that passes through a high-pass filter (HPF), and the R key signal 43 is a signal that passes through a low-pass filter (LPF). . In this way, the left and right can be identified using the frequency deviation. In this case, the L key signal 42 may be a key signal included in the L measurement sound 40 obtained via the HPF, and the R key signal 43 may be obtained via the LPF. Alternatively, it may be a key signal included in the measurement sound 41 for R.

  The key signal as described above is an example, and the key signal may be any signal that can identify left and right. The key signal may be included in either the measurement sound 40 for L or the measurement sound 41 for R. In this case, the identification unit 214 may identify right and left depending on whether or not a key signal is included in the input sound signal being measured. Alternatively, for example, when the key signal is not included, the side not including the key signal is identified based on the identification result of the key signal included in the input sound signal measured on the other side that is not measured. Also good.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the right and left sound quality of the earphone can be appropriately improved by discriminating the right and left of the earphone, appropriately creating correction filters corresponding to the left and right, respectively. As a result, it is not necessary for the user to determine whether the earphone is left or right, and for example, the user does not need to listen to the sound output from the left and right of the earphone to determine left and right, or the user does not need to check the left and right display of the earphone. Become. Therefore, appropriate discrimination and measurement of the left and right of the earphone can be easily and accurately performed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a human error in which the user erroneously measures the same side many times, and to shorten the time spent for measurement. Further, when the user views music or the like with the earphone used for the measurement, the user can hear the sound close to that when the user listens using the ideal earphone, so that the user can enjoy high-quality music. Furthermore, by inserting a key signal used for discriminating between left and right in the section on the start side of the output measurement sound, the left and right can be discriminated quickly.

(Second Embodiment)
The second embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that description of functions or configurations similar to those of the first embodiment is omitted.
In 2nd Embodiment, the level of the sound output from the side which is not identified using the right and left identification result of an earphone is lowered | hung. Specifically, during the measurement, after recognizing whether the measurement side is L or R, the level of the measurement sound on the non-measurement side is lowered or turned off. To do. Further, the identification result is displayed so that the user can understand. Specifically, information indicating whether the identified side is the L side or the R side of the earphone is notified to the user by a function presented to the user, for example, a GUI display or a voice response.

First, the configuration of the measurement sound with the measurement sound level lowered will be described with reference to FIGS.
In FIG. 7, it is assumed that the identification unit 211 identifies that the input sound signal being measured is the measurement sound 40 on the L side. The L key signal 42 is included in the first stage section of the L measurement sound 40. Since the identification result by the identification unit 211 is obtained by measuring the L key signal 42, the measurement signal included in the R measurement sound 51 after the L key signal 42 is measured is silenced. Specifically, in FIG. 7, sound is silenced from a signal output next to the R key signal 43. The silenced signals are the silenced signals 54A, 54B, 54, and the like.

  In FIG. 8, it is assumed that the identification unit 211 recognizes that the input sound signal being measured is the measurement sound 41 on the R side. As in FIG. 7, sound is silenced from a signal output next to the L key signal 42. Specifically, in FIG. 8, the signals to be silenced are indicated by silence signals 55A, 55B, 55E, and the like.

Silencing may be a control to completely turn off the sound level of the measurement signal included in the measurement sound, but the sound of the measurement signal included in the measurement sound that does not interfere with the measurement is reproduced. Control to reduce the level may be used.
Next, with reference to FIG. 9, a process for improving the left and right sound quality of the earphone in the second embodiment will be described.
First, the transmitter 222A outputs a measurement sound (step S31). In step S31, since the measurement sound is output from both the L side and the R side, the measurement is started without the user being aware of the discrimination of the L side and the R side of the earphone at least for the first measurement. It becomes possible. Next, right and left are discriminated by the discriminating unit 211, and the discrimination results on the L side and R side of the measurement sound are acquired. (Step S32). By using this identification result, the side that is not measured at the same time is determined, so the output of the measurement sound on the side that is not measured, that is, the side that is not identified (the side that is not measured by the user) is reduced (step S36). Note that the output of the measurement sound is reduced by controlling the measurement sound on the non-measurement side or the earphone reproduction output so that the earphone reproduction sound on the non-measurement side is reduced or turned off. At this time, control for reducing the measurement sound for the earphone on the identified side (measuring side) is not performed.

  Next, information indicating which of the earphones is the identified side is displayed to the user based on the identification result (step S37). Or you may show the guide based on the information of an identification result (step S37). Note that this function may be realized by GUI display or voice response. For example, the identification result may be displayed on the LCD 13 shown in FIG. Thus, for example, even if the user starts measurement without being conscious of the L side and the R side of the earphone being measured, the user can naturally know the information on which side is the L side or the R side when measuring. There is an effect that becomes possible.

  Next, a characteristic analysis is performed using the measurement signal included in the measurement sound (step S33). Moreover, it is determined whether there exists an unmeasured side by using the identified result (step S38). If there is an unmeasured side (YES in step S38), the process returns to step S31 and the unmeasured side is measured. On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no unmeasured side (NO in step S38), the L side and R side identification results acquired in step S32 are associated with the characteristics acquired in step S33 (step S34). Then, characteristic correction for performing correction corresponding to the associated characteristic on the L side and the R side is performed.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, measurement is performed by lowering the sound level of the measurement sound output from the earphone on the side that is not close to the microphone at the time of measurement, or by making no sound at all. The measurement performance can be further improved without reducing the measurement performance on the side. That is, it is possible to prevent the sound output from the side not measuring from being picked up by the microphone. Therefore, the SN ratio of measurement can be improved. In addition, by suppressing the level of sound from the side that is not close to the microphone during measurement, it is possible to suppress the influence of noise and the like on the surroundings.

(Third embodiment)
Hereinafter, a third embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that a description of functions or configurations similar to those of the first embodiment and the second embodiment is omitted.
In the third embodiment, the signal in the section including the key signal (key information) in the collected measurement sound is corrected based on the acoustic characteristics obtained from the measurement signal in the measurement sound, and the corrected signal Based on the left and right determination. Thereby, extraction of the key information for identifying the right and left contained in the measurement sound such as the key signal can be more reliably performed. Since the key information included in the measurement sound is output from the earphone and collected by the microphone 16, the key information included in the collected sound is affected by the characteristics of the earphone. In the third embodiment, it is possible to improve a decrease in identification accuracy of key information due to such influence.

First, the process for improving the sound quality of the sound output from the earphone according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
Transmitter 222A outputs the measurement sound to the earphone (step S101). Next, the characteristic is analyzed based on the measurement signal included in the measurement sound (step S102). Note that when analyzing characteristics, a characteristic necessary for correction that brings the frequency characteristic of the earphone of the measurement signal close to the target characteristic may be obtained as the correction characteristic. It is desirable that the target characteristic is close to flat, but it may be a predetermined target characteristic. Since the target characteristic can be designed in consideration of the fact that the target characteristic is known in advance, the target characteristic is not flat. Also good. In this way, a correction characteristic or a correction filter for removing the influence of the characteristic of the earphone is obtained. The correction characteristic is a characteristic for bringing the frequency characteristic of the earphone included in the measurement signal close to the target characteristic. The correction characteristic can be obtained, for example, as a correction filter generated when designing an equalizer filter.

  Next, the correction of the key signal is performed by applying the correction filter generated in step S102 to the section including the key signal in the collected input sound signal. Accordingly, the identification unit 214 can perform identification on the L side and the R side using the corrected key signal from which the influence due to the characteristics of the earphone is removed.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the characteristics on both sides of the earphone have been measured (step S104). Then, the characteristic acquired in step S102 is associated with the identification result acquired in step S103 (step S105). A characteristic correction process for performing correction corresponding to the associated characteristic on each of the L side and the R side is performed (step S106).

With reference to FIG. 11, the identification process in step S103 of FIG. 10 will be specifically described.
Step S103A includes Step S111 and Step S112. The identification section including the key signal using the characteristic correction is analyzed (step S111). The characteristic correction is correction using the correction filter as described above. The corrected identification section is analyzed by applying a correction filter to the section including the key signal of the input sound signal picked up by the microphone 16 (step S111). Note that the identification section is set in the PC 1 in advance. Then, the L side and the R side are identified based on the analysis result, and the identification result is acquired (step S112).

  As described above, in the third embodiment, the earphone characteristics are analyzed prior to the identification process, and the key signal is corrected using the correction filter obtained by the analysis process. Can be used to identify left and right. Therefore, even when the key signal has deteriorated due to the characteristics of the earphone, the left and right can be identified with high accuracy.

(Modification)
Hereinafter, modified examples of the configuration of the measurement sound used at the time of measurement will be described.
FIG. 12 shows a configuration example of the measurement sound in the case where the measurement signal 61 having the opposite phase to the measurement signal included in the measurement sound 60 for L is included in the measurement sound 61 for R. The antiphase measurement signal is a signal obtained by inverting the signal output on the time axis. For example, when a TSP signal is used as the measurement signal, a TSP signal having a reverse time order is used as the measurement signal with the opposite phase. By using such a measurement signal, it is possible to identify left and right without including a key signal in the measurement sound.

  Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, the anti-phase measurement signals are indicated by the anti-phase measurement signals 63A, 63B, and 63E with respect to the measurement signals 62A, 62B, and 62E, respectively. .

Next, with reference to FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, a description will be given of the silencing of the signal on the unmeasured side when the measurement signal having the opposite phase is used.
In FIG. 13, it is assumed that the measurement sound 60 for L is being measured. When the measurement signal 62A is analyzed and, for example, coincides with the measurement signal set in advance, it is identified that the measurement sound being measured is the measurement sound 60 for L. The signal of the measurement sound 71 for R corresponding to the measurement signal 62B output on the time axis (indicated by the silence signal 64A in FIG. 13) is silenced.

  In FIG. 14, it is assumed that the measurement sound 73 for R is being measured. By analyzing the anti-phase measurement signal 63A, it is identified that the measurement sound being measured is the measurement sound 73 for R. Therefore, the signal output next to the measurement signal 63A having the opposite phase may be a measurement signal that is not in the opposite phase, that is, a measurement signal having the same phase as the measurement signal. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 14, the signal output next to the measurement signal 63A having the opposite phase may be output to the R side as the measurement signal 62F that is not the opposite phase. The measurement sound 72 on the L side that is not measured may be silenced from the signal output next to the measurement signal 62A. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 14, the signal output next to the measurement signal 62A (indicated by the silence signal 65A in FIG. 14) is silenced.

In addition, the case where an initial signal is used as another example of the configuration of the measurement sound can be considered. The initial signal is a signal used for initial adjustment of the system for measurement when performing measurement. The initial signal is output before the measurement signal. In such a case, the measurement sound can be configured such that the key signal falls between the initial signal and the measurement signal as shown below.
Measurement sound on the L side: [initial signal] [key signal for L] [measurement signal] [measurement signal] ... [measurement signal]
R-side measurement sound: [initial signal] [R key signal] [measurement signal] [measurement signal] ... [measurement signal]
The key signal or the measurement signal may also serve as the initial signal.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, the left and right identification processing using the measurement signal having the opposite phase may be determined based on the correlation between the predetermined measurement signal and the sound signal collected by the microphone 16. . Further, the TSP signal is included in the measurement sound for L as the measurement sound, and the time direction of the output measurement sound is the forward direction or the TSP signal or the pink TSP signal with the reverse time order is used for the measurement sound for R. It may be in the reverse direction. The measurement sound is a combination of signals having different properties for L and R, such as using a TSP signal as the measurement signal for the measurement sound for L and using a pink TSP signal as the measurement signal for the measurement sound for R. There may be. Also in this case, the left and right may be determined based on the correlation between the predetermined measurement signal and the sound signal collected by the microphone 16.

Alternatively, the measurement sound may be configured such that output time intervals between measurement signals are different. Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the time interval between time t ₁ and time t ₂ is different between the measurement sound for L and the measurement sound for R.

  Finally, with reference to FIG. 15, a case will be described in which the left and right key signals used for identifying left and right have a difference in bias in the energy distribution in the key signal on the time axis. As shown in FIG. 15, for example, the L key signal may have a lot of energy in the first half on the time axis, and conversely the R key signal may have a lot of energy in the second half on the time axis. Since the L key signal and the R key signal only need to have a difference in energy distribution, it is not always necessary to have a target between the L key signal and the R key signal as shown in FIG. Absent.

  In general, earphones and headphones are designed so that the difference between the left and right characteristics of the midrange is relatively small compared to the low and high ranges, so that, for example, frequencies around 1 kHz are included. By using the key signal, the identification key as described above using the bias of the energy distribution becomes more stable and effective.

  As described above, in the first to third embodiments, the user can hear the sound on the left and right sides of the earphone to determine the left and right, and the user can confirm the left and right display of the earphone without checking the left and right display of the earphone. Appropriate discrimination and measurement of the left and right can be performed easily and accurately.

  Note that all the correction control processing procedures of the present embodiment can be executed by software. For this reason, it is the same as in the first to third embodiments only by installing and executing this program on a normal computer through a computer-readable storage medium storing the program for executing this correction control processing procedure. The effect of can be easily realized.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Computer, 16 ... Microphone, 18 ... (L side) Sound output part, 19 ... (R side) Sound output terminal, 40 ... Measurement sound for L, 41 ... Measurement sound for R, 113 ... Output terminal (Earphone) Terminals), 122 ... Media player, 202 ... Sound quality improvement program, 211 ... Measurement unit, 212A ... L correction filter design unit, 212B ... R correction filter design unit, 221A ... L correction filter, 221B ... R correction filter , 222... Acoustic signal reproducing unit, 222 A... Transmitting unit, 214.

Claims (10)

Measurement sound output means for outputting first and second measurement sounds, at least one of which includes channel identification information, from the left channel and the right channel to the output terminal, respectively;
Measuring means for measuring acoustic characteristics of the earphone or headphones by collecting the measurement sound output from the earphone or headphones connected to the output terminal;
Left and right determination means for determining whether the sound is the left or right based on detection of channel identification information with respect to the collected measurement sound;
When the determination means determines left, first correction information is generated based on the measured acoustic characteristic, and when the determination means determines right, the first correction information is generated based on the measured acoustic characteristic. Correction information generating means for generating the correction information of 2;
The frequency characteristic of the left channel sound signal output from the audio reproduction unit is corrected based on the first correction information, and the frequency characteristic of the right channel sound signal output from the audio reproduction unit is corrected to the second. An information processing apparatus comprising correction means for correcting based on information.   The measurement sound output means reduces the volume of the sound output from the right channel sound output section when it is determined that the measurement sound collected by the left / right determination means is the left channel sound. When the second measurement sound is controlled and the measurement sound collected by the determination means is determined to be the right channel sound, the volume of the sound output from the left channel sound output unit is The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first measurement sound is controlled to be lowered.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a result presentation unit that displays a determination result by the left / right determination unit on a screen or outputs the determination result by voice.   The left / right determination means corrects a signal in a section including channel identification information in the collected measurement sound based on an acoustic characteristic obtained from the measurement signal in the measurement sound, and based on the corrected signal. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein left and right determination is performed.   The correction information generation unit generates the third correction information including the first correction information or the second correction information based on the acoustic characteristic measured by the measurement unit, and the correction unit includes the correction information Correcting the signal included in the predetermined section in the measurement sound corresponding to the predetermined section including the channel identification information in the first and second measurement sounds based on the third correction information; The left / right determination means determines whether the collected measurement sound is the left channel sound or the right channel sound based on the corrected signal included in the predetermined section. 2. The information processing apparatus according to 2 or 3. Measurement sound output means for outputting different first and second measurement sounds from the left channel and the right channel to the output terminal, respectively,
Measuring means for measuring acoustic characteristics of the earphone or headphones by collecting the measurement sound output from the earphone or headphones connected to the output terminal;
Left and right determination means for determining whether the sound is the left or right based on detection of channel identification information with respect to the collected measurement sound;
When the determination means determines left, first correction information is generated based on the measured acoustic characteristic, and when the determination means determines right, the first correction information is generated based on the measured acoustic characteristic. Correction information generating means for generating the correction information of 2;
The frequency characteristic of the left channel sound signal output from the audio reproduction unit is corrected based on the first correction information, and the frequency characteristic of the right channel sound signal output from the audio reproduction unit is corrected to the second. An information processing apparatus comprising correction means for correcting based on information.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the measurement sound output unit outputs the second measurement sound in a time series opposite to the time series of the first measurement sound.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the measurement sound output unit outputs the second measurement sound including a sound having a property different from that of the first measurement sound. Each of the first and second measurement sounds has a plurality of measurement signals,
The measurement sound output means includes the plurality of measurement signals included in the second measurement sound at a time interval different from a time interval at which the plurality of measurement signals included in the first measurement sound are output from the output terminal. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, which outputs from the output terminal. Outputting at least one of the first and second measurement sounds including channel identification information from the left channel and the right channel to the output terminal, respectively,
Measuring acoustic characteristics of the earphone or headphones by collecting the measurement sound output from the earphone or headphones connected to the output terminal;
For the collected measurement sound, determine whether the sound is the left or right based on detection of channel identification information,
If it is determined to be left, first correction information is generated based on the measured acoustic characteristics; if it is determined to be right, second correction information is generated based on the measured acoustic characteristics;
The frequency characteristic of the left channel sound signal output from the audio reproduction unit is corrected based on the first correction information, and the frequency characteristic of the right channel sound signal output from the audio reproduction unit is corrected to the second. A correction control method for correcting based on information.

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