JP2015177201A - Electronic apparatus and acoustic communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic apparatus that has an acoustic communication function and that is an apparatus for home use and the like, low in cost, and easily usable.SOLUTION: If information detected by a sensor included in an apparatus unit 60 is information which should be reported as an alarm, an apparatus control unit 67 outputs notification sound to the outside from a speaker 63. When a microphone 62 inputs an acoustic signal output from the outside, a decoder 64a decodes the acoustic signal. If a relay control unit 64c has determined that the decoded data includes data which should be relayed, an encoder 64b encodes the data into an acoustic signal and outputs it to the outside from the speaker 63.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device such as a home appliance, which can relay sensor detection information detected and output by a sensor as an acoustic signal, and an acoustic communication system.

  As a system for receiving information of various devices installed in a home by a controller or the like, a system using a wireless communication technology such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wi-Fi (registered trademark) is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-260134 A

  However, wireless communication technologies such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and Wi-Fi (registered trademark) used in the system of Patent Document 1 are costly and require various pairing between the transmission side and the reception side. There are some restrictions. Further, since the development is not easy, it has been impossible to adopt the above-described wireless communication technology for devices such as home appliances. Furthermore, Bluetooth (registered trademark) and Wi-Fi (registered trademark) may interfere with radio waves in microwave ovens used at home, and may not receive information from various devices reliably. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and is an electronic device used in a home or the like, and an electronic device having an acoustic communication function that can be easily used at low cost, and acoustic communication. Providing a system is a solution issue.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an electronic device of the present invention includes an input unit (for example, the microcomputer 65) for inputting detection information in the device, a decoding unit (for example, a decoder 64a) for acquiring and decoding an acoustic signal from the outside, A relay control unit (for example, relay control unit 64c) that determines whether information to be relayed is included in the decoded data, and an encoding unit (for example, an encoder) that encodes the information to be relayed and the detection information as an acoustic signal 64a, encoder 66) and an output unit (for example, encoder 64a, encoder 66) that outputs the encoded acoustic signal.

  According to this invention, the detection information in the apparatus input by the input unit is encoded as an acoustic signal by the encoding unit and output by the output unit. The audio signal output from the other electronic device is decoded by the decoding unit, and when the relay control unit determines that the information to be relayed is included in the decoded data, the information to be relayed Is encoded as an acoustic signal by the encoding unit and output by the output unit. Therefore, even when the user is away from the electronic device that has output the acoustic signal based on the detection information, the acoustic signal is relayed by another electronic device. As described above, the present invention provides an electronic device having a wireless communication function using an acoustic signal, and thus can be easily used at low cost.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the electronic apparatus of the present invention determines whether or not information to be notified is included in the decoded data, and a decoding unit (for example, decoder 72) that acquires and decodes an acoustic signal from the outside. A notification control unit (for example, the control unit 73), and a notification unit (for example, the device unit 70) for reporting the information to be notified.

  According to the present invention, when the audio signal in the non-audible band is decoded by the decoding unit and the notification control unit determines that the information to be notified is included in the decoded data, the notification unit Information to be notified is notified. Therefore, even when the user is in a place away from the electronic device that has output the acoustic signal based on the information to be notified, the acoustic signal can be acquired and notified. As described above, the present invention provides an electronic device having a wireless communication function using an acoustic signal, and thus can be easily used at low cost.

  In the above-described invention, the relay control unit may add identification information (for example, a device ID) unique to the electronic device to the information to be relayed. In this case, the information to be relayed with the identification information added is encoded as an acoustic signal by the encoding unit and output by the output unit. When such an acoustic signal is acquired from another electronic device and decoded, the relay control unit outputs the information to be relayed from which electronic device based on the identification information added to the information to be relayed. Can be determined. As a result, for example, when the information is output from itself, it can be prevented from being output again.

  In the above-described invention, the relay control unit may determine that information to be relayed is not included when the decoded data includes identification information unique to the electronic device. Good. In this case, the relay control unit does not output the information to be relayed to which the unique identification information has been added, so that the information output from itself can not be output again.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the acoustic communication system of the present invention is an acoustic communication system including a first electronic device (for example, the washing machine 10, the microwave oven 20, and the television 30) and a second electronic device (for example, the smartphone 40). The first electronic device includes a first input unit (for example, a microcomputer 65) for inputting detection information in the device, a first decoding unit (for example, a decoder 64a) for acquiring and decoding an acoustic signal from the outside, A relay control unit (for example, relay control unit 64c) that determines whether information to be relayed is included in the decoded data, and a first encoding unit that encodes the information to be relayed and the detection information as an acoustic signal (Eg, encoder 64a, encoder 66) and a first output unit (eg, encoder 64a, encoder) that outputs the encoded acoustic signal. The second electronic device includes a second decoding unit (for example, a decoder 72) that acquires and decodes an acoustic signal from the outside, and whether the decoded data includes information to be notified It is provided with the alerting | reporting control part (for example, control part 73) which determines whether or not, and the alerting | reporting part (for example, apparatus part 70) which alert | reports the said information which should be alert | reported.

  According to this invention, the detection information in the first electronic device input by the first input unit is encoded as an acoustic signal by the first encoding unit and output by the first output unit. Also, the audio signal output from the other electronic device is decoded by the first decoding unit, and is relayed when the relay control unit determines that the decoded data includes information to be relayed. The power information is encoded as an acoustic signal by the first encoding unit and output by the first output unit. When the second decoding unit of the second electronic device decodes the acoustic signal and the notification control unit determines that the information to be notified is included in the decoded data, the notification unit Information to be notified is notified. Therefore, even when the user is in a place away from the first electronic device that has output the acoustic signal based on the detection information, the acoustic signal is relayed by the other first electronic device and notified by the second electronic device. . As described above, the present invention provides an acoustic communication system having a wireless communication function using an acoustic signal, and thus can be easily used at low cost.

  In the above-described invention, a third decoding unit (for example, decoder 64a) that acquires and decodes an acoustic signal from the outside, and a second relay control unit that determines whether information to be relayed is included in the decoded data ( For example, a microcomputer 65), a second encoding unit (for example, an encoder 66) that encodes the information to be relayed as an acoustic signal, and a second output unit (for example, an encoder 66) that outputs the encoded acoustic signal. A third electronic device (for example, the repeater 200) may be included.

  In this case, wireless communication technology such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wi-Fi (registered trademark) should be used by installing the third electronic device even in a place where devices such as home appliances cannot be installed. In addition, communication between devices such as home appliances can be performed at low cost. Further, since pairing is unnecessary between the transmission side and the reception side, it can be easily adopted.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an acoustic communication system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of electronic devices, such as a washing machine, a microwave oven, and a television. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of electronic devices, such as a smart phone. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the data which added apparatus ID. It is a figure explaining transmission / reception between the apparatuses of the data which added apparatus ID. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the information detected with the sensor. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the information input with the microphone. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the information input with the microphone of the smart phone. It is a schematic diagram which shows the acoustic communication system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a repeater. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the electronic device in a modification.

<First Embodiment>
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an acoustic communication system 1 according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a washing machine, a microwave oven, and a television constituting the acoustic communication system 1, and FIG. It is a functional block diagram of a smart phone. The acoustic communication system 1 includes a washing machine 10, a microwave oven 20, a television 30, and a smartphone 40 as examples of electronic devices. Although each electronic device in the present embodiment can communicate with each other, as an example, the smartphone 40 cannot directly receive an acoustic signal from the washing machine 10, but can receive an acoustic signal from the television 30 directly. It shall be. Further, it is assumed that the television 30 is in an environment where an acoustic signal from the microwave oven 20 can be directly received.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the washing machine 10, the microwave oven 20, and the television 30 are detected by a device unit 60 that performs the original functions of these electronic devices and various sensors provided in the device unit 60. A communication processing unit 61 that transmits alarm information or the like as an acoustic signal to an external electronic device, processes the acoustic signal received from the external electronic device, and then relays it to the external electronic device, a microphone 62, and a speaker 63.

  The communication processing unit 61 includes an acoustic signal processing unit 64, a microcomputer 65, an encoder 66, and a device control unit 67. The acoustic signal processing unit 64 inputs an acoustic signal via the microphone 62, decodes an inaudible band acoustic signal among the acoustic signals, encodes the decoded data as necessary, and transmits the audio signal via the speaker 63. Output to an external electronic device as an inaudible acoustic signal. Note that the audio signal to be decoded or the audio signal that is encoded and output from the speaker 63 is preferably a non-audible band audio signal, but may be an audible band. Details of processing in the acoustic signal processing unit 64 will be described later. The microcomputer 65 detects the output of various sensors provided in the device unit 60 and temporarily stores the detected data in the memory. Therefore, the microcomputer 65 functions as an input unit (first input unit) for inputting outputs of various sensors in the device. The microcomputer 65 has a function of encoding data (sensor output) stored in the memory in accordance with an output instruction from the device control unit 67 and outputting the encoded data to the encoder 66. The device control unit 67 monitors the detection data by the sensor stored in the memory of the microcomputer 65 and outputs a notification sound signal to the speaker 63 at a predetermined timing. In addition, the device control unit 67 instructs the microcomputer 65 to output data (sensor output) at the same time. The encoder 66 generates an acoustic signal having a frequency in a non-audible band based on data (sensor output) output from the microcomputer 65 and outputs the acoustic signal to the speaker 63. As the encoding method, for example, the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-288246 may be used, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The encoder 66 and the encoder 64b of the acoustic signal processing unit 64 function as an encoding unit (first encoding unit) that encodes information to be relayed and detection information such as a sensor as an acoustic signal, and also encodes the encoded acoustic signal. It functions as an output unit (first output unit) for outputting.

As shown in FIG. 3, the smartphone 40 includes a device unit 70, a microphone 71, a control unit 73, a decoder 72, and a speaker 74 that exhibit the original functions of the smartphone. The decoder 72 decodes the voice input from the microphone 71 and acquires information. As the decoding method, for example, the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-288246 may be used, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The decoder 64a of the acoustic signal processing unit 64 and the decoder 72 of the smartphone 40 function as a decoding unit (first decoding unit, second decoding unit) that acquires an acoustic signal from the outside and decodes the acoustic signal.
The control unit 73 functions as a control unit when a CPU (Central Prossesing Unit) installed in the smartphone 40 executes application software installed in the smartphone 40. When the control unit 73 determines that the decoded information is information to be notified, the control unit 73 notifies the information. For example, the control unit 73 can perform notification processing such as appropriately displaying information on a screen included in the device unit 70 or transmitting the information to an external server. Therefore, the control unit 73 functions as a notification control unit that determines whether information to be notified is included in the decoded data. The control unit 73 and the speaker 74 function as a notification unit that notifies information to be notified. As shown in FIG. 3, the decoder 72 may not be provided separately from the control unit 73, but the decoding function may be exhibited when the control unit 73 executes application software.

  In the example shown in FIG. 1, the washing machine 10 transmits alarm information, the microwave oven 20 and the television 30 relay the alarm information, and the smartphone 40 displays the alarm information on the screen. Therefore, in this embodiment, the washing machine 10, the microwave oven 20, and the television 30 function as a first electronic device, and the smartphone 40 functions as a second electronic device.

<Relay control unit>
The relay control unit 64c of the acoustic signal processing unit 64 in the washing machine 10, the microwave oven 20, and the television 30, and the microcomputer 65 include a device ID as unique identification information of each device in data to be transmitted or data to be relayed. Process to add. By adding the device ID to the data, it is possible to prevent the same data transmitted by itself from being transmitted again when an inaudible band acoustic signal output from the speaker 63 is received.

  First, as shown in FIG. 4, the microcomputer 65 of the device (the washing machine 10 in this embodiment) serving as a transmission source of alarm information or the like includes, in the information 300 to be transmitted, the device ID information 301 of the device. Data D1 is generated by adding (for example, device ID1), and the data D1 is encoded and transmitted as acoustic information in a non-audible band as shown in FIG. 5 (D1 arrow from the washing machine 10).

  When the acoustic signal processing unit 64 of another device (for example, the microwave oven 20) that has received the data D1 decodes the data D1 by the decoder 64a and determines that the data D1 is data to be relayed, the data D1 5 is added to the device ID information 302 (for example, device ID2) of the device, and the data D2 is encoded and the data D2 is encoded as an inaudible band acoustic signal in FIG. 5 (D2 output from the microwave oven 20). Send as shown by the arrow.

  On the other hand, the data D1 transmitted from the device with the device ID1 (for example, the washing machine 10) is also received by the device with the device ID1 that transmitted the data D1 as shown in FIG. However, as shown in FIG. 4, since the information 301 of the device ID1 is added to the data D1 received by the device itself, the relay control unit 64c in the device of the device ID1 has the data D1 itself. It can be determined that the data is transmitted by. In this case, the relay control unit 64c determines that the information 300 included in the data D1 received by the device itself is not information to be relayed, and does not perform transmission. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a phenomenon in which the same information is repeatedly looped and transmitted.

  Similarly, the data D2 transmitted from the device with the device ID2 (for example, the microwave oven 20) is also received by the device with the device ID1 (for example, the washing machine 10) that transmitted the data D1, as shown in FIG. However, as shown in FIG. 4, the data D2 received by the device with the device ID1 is added with the device ID1, so the relay control unit 64c in the device with the device ID1 transmits the data by itself. It can be determined that the data has been processed. In this case, the relay control unit 64c determines that the information 300 included in the data D2 received by the device with the device ID1 is not information to be relayed, and does not perform transmission. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a phenomenon in which the same information is repeatedly looped and transmitted.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the data D2 transmitted from the device with the device ID2 (for example, the microwave oven 20) is also received by the device with the device ID2 that transmitted the data D2. However, as shown in FIG. 4, since the device ID2 is added to the data D2 received by the device with the device ID2, the relay control unit 64c in the device with the device ID2 receives the data by itself. It can be determined that the data is transmitted. In this case, the relay control unit 64c determines that the information 300 included in the data D2 received by the device with the device ID2 itself is not information to be relayed, and does not perform transmission. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a phenomenon in which the same information is repeatedly looped and transmitted.

  The acoustic signal processing unit 64 of another device (for example, the television 30) that has received the data D2 decodes the data D2 by the decoder 64a. If it is determined that the data D2 is data to be relayed, the data D3 is created by adding the device ID information 303 (for example, device ID3) of the device to the data D2, and the data D3 is encoded. Then, the sound signal is transmitted as an inaudible band acoustic signal as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the data D3 transmitted from the device with the device ID3 (for example, the television 30) is also received by the device with the device ID3 that transmitted the data D3. However, since the data D3 received by the device with the device ID3 itself is added with the device ID3 as shown in FIG. 4, the relay control unit 64c in the device with the device ID3 receives the data by itself. It can be determined that the data is transmitted. In this case, the relay control unit 64c determines that the information 300 included in the data D3 received by the device with the device ID3 itself is not information to be relayed, and does not perform transmission. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a phenomenon in which the same information is repeatedly looped and transmitted.

  Similarly, the data D3 transmitted from the device with the device ID3 is also received by the device with the device ID2 that transmitted the data D2, as shown in FIG. However, since the device ID2 is added to the data D3 as shown in FIG. 4, the relay control unit 64c in the device with the device ID2 determines that the data is data transmitted by itself. Can do. In this case, the relay control unit 64c determines that the information 300 included in the data D3 received by the device with the device ID2 itself is not information to be relayed, and does not perform transmission. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a phenomenon in which the same information is repeatedly looped and transmitted.

  The other device (for example, the smartphone 40) that has received the data D3 decodes the data D3 by the decoder 72 and then outputs it to the control unit 73. When the control unit 73 reads the information 300 included in the data D3 and determines that the information 300 is information that needs to be notified, the control unit 73 notifies the information 300. For example, the fact that alarm information has been output from the device with the device ID 1 is displayed on a display or the like provided in the smartphone 40. As described above, the relay control unit 64c of the acoustic signal processing unit 64 in the washing machine 10, the microwave oven 20, and the television 30 determines whether or not the decoded data includes information to be relayed. Function as a unit (first relay control unit).

<Operation of acoustic communication system>
Next, with reference to FIG.6 and FIG.8, operation | movement of the acoustic communication system 1 of this embodiment is demonstrated. When the detected value is a value that requires an alarm, the sensor provided in the washing machine 10, the microwave oven 20, and the device unit 60 of the television 30 outputs detection data (alarm information) indicating that fact. Is. And the apparatus control part 67 monitors whether the detection data output from the sensor with which the apparatus part 60 was provided was input by the microcomputer 65, and was memorize | stored in the memory which the microcomputer 65 built in (FIG. 6: step S10). ). If the device control unit 67 determines that new detection data of the sensor is input by the microcomputer 65 and is not stored in the memory (FIG. 6: Step S10; NO), the process ends. However, if the device control unit 67 determines that new detection data of the sensor has been input by the microcomputer 65 and stored in the memory (FIG. 6: Step S10; YES), a notification acoustic signal is output from the speaker 63. (FIG. 6: Step S11). In addition, since this embodiment transmits information with a non-audible sound, the acoustic signal output of step S11 is not essential.

  In addition, the device control unit 67 outputs an instruction to output an acoustic signal to the microcomputer 65 (FIG. 6: Step S12). The microcomputer 65 that has input the output instruction adds the device ID to the detection data (alarm information) to be transmitted (FIG. 6: step S13) and performs the encoding process (FIG. 6: step S14). The microcomputer 65 outputs the encoded data to the encoder 66, and the encoder 66 generates an acoustic signal having a frequency in a non-audible band based on this data and outputs it to the speaker 63 (FIG. 6: Step S15). ).

  On the other hand, in the acoustic signal processing unit 64, it is determined whether or not sound of a predetermined level or higher is input through the microphone 62 (FIG. 7: Step S20). The acoustic signal processing unit 64 ends the process when a sound of a predetermined level or higher is not input (FIG. 7: Step S20; NO). However, when the sound signal processing unit 64 determines that a sound of a predetermined level or higher is input (FIG. 7: Step S20; YES), the sound signal input by the decoder 64a is decoded (FIG. 7: FIG. 7). Step S21). The relay control unit 64c analyzes the decoded data and determines whether the data needs to be relayed (FIG. 7: Step S22). For example, when the decoded data includes its own device ID, it is not necessary to transmit again, so it is determined that the data does not need to be relayed (FIG. 7: Step S22; NO). . Note that if the data cannot be acquired in the decoding process of step S21, step S22 is similarly NO. However, when the relay control unit 64c determines that the data needs to be relayed (FIG. 7: Step S22; YES), the relay control unit 64c performs a process of adding its own device ID to the data (FIG. 7: Step). S23). Then, the encoder 64b performs an encoding process on the data to which the device ID is added (FIG. 7: step S24), and outputs it to the speaker 63. In this way, information such as alarm information transmitted from another device is relayed as an inaudible band acoustic signal.

  The decoder 72 of the smartphone 40 determines whether or not a predetermined level or more of sound has been input via the microphone 71 (FIG. 8: Step S30). The decoder 72 ends the process when an acoustic signal of a predetermined level or higher is not input (FIG. 8: Step S30; NO). However, when the decoder 72 determines that an acoustic signal of a predetermined level or higher is input (FIG. 8: Step S30; YES), the decoder 72 decodes the input acoustic signal and outputs it to the control unit 73 (FIG. 8). 8: Step S31). The control unit 73 analyzes the decoded data and determines whether information that needs to be notified is included (FIG. 8: step S32). If the control unit 73 determines that the decoded data does not contain information that needs to be notified (FIG. 8: Step S32; NO), the process ends. Note that if the data cannot be acquired in the decoding process in step S31, step S32 is similarly NO. However, if the control unit 73 determines that the decoded data includes information that needs to be notified (FIG. 8: step S32; YES), the control unit 73 notifies the information (FIG. 8: step S33). . For example, alarm information or the like is displayed on the display or the like together with the name of the source device. In this way, even when the user is far from the transmission source of alarm information or the like, the alarm information is displayed on the smartphone 40 together with the device name of the transmission source or is generated as an alarm, so that an alarm is generated. You can know the details of the devices and alarms.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, communication between devices such as home appliances can be performed at low cost without using wireless communication technology such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wi-Fi (registered trademark). It can be carried out. Further, since pairing is unnecessary between the transmission side and the reception side, it can be easily adopted. Furthermore, although Bluetooth (registered trademark) and Wi-Fi (registered trademark) may interfere with radio waves in a microwave oven or the like used in the home, in this embodiment, communication is performed using acoustic information in a non-audible band. As a result, information from various devices can be reliably transmitted and received.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In 1st Embodiment, the example which gave transmission / reception functions to apparatuses, such as household appliances, was demonstrated. However, this embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a dedicated relay device is used. In addition, description is abbreviate | omitted about a common part with 1st Embodiment.

  The installation location of electronic devices such as home appliances is limited to some extent due to requests for usage purpose and the like. As a result, electronic devices such as home appliances may not be installed in places where communication is possible. In such a case, for example, a repeater may be installed at a predetermined location in the home. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of the acoustic communication system 1 including the repeater 200 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the repeater 200.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the repeater 200 as the third electronic device is provided with a microphone 62, a decoder 64a, a microcomputer 65, an encoder 66, and a speaker 63, and a device unit 60 and a device control unit 67 are provided. It is not done. Further, the encoder 64b and the relay control unit 64c are not provided. The processing of the decoder 64a is almost the same as the processing shown in FIG. 7, but the processing of step S23 is performed by the microcomputer 65. Accordingly, the decoder 64a of the repeater 200 functions as a third decoding unit that acquires an acoustic signal from the outside and decodes the inaudible band acoustic signal. The microcomputer 65 of the repeater 200 functions as a second relay control unit that determines whether the decoded data includes information to be relayed. Furthermore, the encoder 66 of the repeater 200 functions as a second encoding unit that encodes information to be relayed as an inaudible band acoustic signal, and also functions as a second output unit that outputs the encoded acoustic signal. .

  According to the present embodiment, wireless communication technology such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wi-Fi (registered trademark) is used by installing the repeater 200 even in a place where devices such as home appliances cannot be installed. Therefore, communication between devices such as home appliances can be performed at low cost. Further, since pairing is unnecessary between the transmission side and the reception side, it can be easily adopted. Furthermore, although Bluetooth (registered trademark) and Wi-Fi (registered trademark) may interfere with radio waves in a microwave oven or the like used in the home, in this embodiment, communication is performed using acoustic information in a non-audible band. As a result, information from various devices can be reliably transmitted and received.

<Modification>
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications described below are possible. Moreover, each modification and embodiment mentioned above can be combined suitably.

(1) In the first embodiment, the communication processing unit 61 of the washing machine 10, the microwave oven 20, and the television 30 includes an acoustic signal processing unit 64 including a decoder 64a, an encoder 64b, and a relay control unit 64c. ing. However, the present invention is not limited to such an example. As shown in FIG. 11, the communication processing unit 61 includes a decoder 64a, and the function of the relay control unit 64c is executed by the microcomputer 65. Good. In this case, the function of the encoder 64b may be executed by the encoder 66.

(2) The non-audible band acoustic signal may be superimposed on the audible band notification acoustic signal, or may be output without superimposing, regardless of the presence or absence of the audible band notification acoustic signal. You may do it.

(3) The volume of the acoustic signal of the encoder 66 and the encoder 64b can be set, and can be set at the time of shipment of the module (for example, the part excluding the device unit 60, the microphone 61, and the speaker 63 from FIG. You may enable it to set from the operation part of an apparatus.

(4) In each of the above-described embodiments and modifications, information to be transmitted as a non-audible band acoustic signal is only encoded and not encrypted. However, encryption may be performed. Further, in each of the above-described embodiments and modifications, an example in which a device ID is added to information to be transmitted or relayed to prevent the same information from being repeatedly looped and transmitted has been described. Instead of using the ID, the frequency at which the sensor detection information or the like is modulated into a non-audible band may be different for each electronic device.

(5) In the embodiment described above, the sensor detection data may be a detection value itself (temperature, current value, etc.) detected by the sensor. In that case, when the device control unit 67 compares the detection value with a predetermined threshold value and determines that an alarm should be issued, the detection data (sensor detection value) is encoded and transmitted to the microcomputer 65 as an acoustic signal. An instruction may be issued as follows.
In this case, the smartphone that has received the acoustic signal can display or pronounce the sensor detection value.

(6) In the embodiment described above, the device control unit 67 is connected to the device unit 60 instead of monitoring the sensor detection data stored in the memory of the microcomputer 65, and the sensor detection data is stored in the device unit 60. You may make it monitor.

(7) In each embodiment and each modification described above, a washing machine, a microwave oven, a television, and a smartphone are used as electronic devices. However, the present invention is not limited to such an example, and other various electric devices are used. Applicable to equipment. In addition, the number of electronic devices used in the acoustic communication system can be changed as appropriate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Acoustic communication system, 10 ... Washing machine, 20 ... Microwave oven, 30 ... Television, 40 ... Smartphone, 60 ... Equipment part, 61 ... Communication processing part, 62 ... Microphone, 63 ... Speaker, 64 ... Acoustic signal processing part, 64a ... Decoder, 64b ... Encoder, 64c ... Relay control unit, 65 ... Microcomputer, 66 ... Encoder, 67 ... Device control unit, 70 ... Device unit, 71 ... Microphone, 72 ... Decoder, 73 ... Control unit, 74 ... Speaker, 200 ... Repeater.

Claims (6)

An input unit for inputting detection information in the device;
A decoding unit for acquiring and decoding an acoustic signal from the outside;
A relay control unit that determines whether information to be relayed is included in the decoded data;
An encoding unit that encodes the information to be relayed and the detection information as an acoustic signal;
An output unit for outputting the encoded acoustic signal;
An electronic device comprising: A decoding unit for acquiring and decoding an acoustic signal from the outside;
A notification control unit for determining whether information to be notified is included in the decoded data;
An informing unit for informing the information to be informed;
An electronic device comprising: The relay control unit adds identification information unique to the electronic device to the information to be relayed.
The electronic device according to claim 1. The relay control unit determines that information to be relayed is not included when the decoded data includes identification information unique to the electronic device.
The electronic device according to claim 3. An acoustic communication system including a first electronic device and a second electronic device,
The first electronic device is
A first input unit for inputting detection information in the device;
A first decoding unit for acquiring and decoding an acoustic signal from the outside;
A first relay control unit that determines whether information to be relayed is included in the decoded data;
A first encoding unit that encodes the information to be relayed and the detection information as an acoustic signal;
A first output unit for outputting the encoded acoustic signal,
The second electronic device is
A second decoding unit for acquiring and decoding an acoustic signal from the outside;
A notification control unit for determining whether information to be notified is included in the decoded data;
A notification unit that notifies the information to be notified,
An acoustic communication system. A third decoding unit for acquiring and decoding an acoustic signal from outside;
A second relay control unit that determines whether information to be relayed is included in the decoded data;
A second encoding unit that encodes the information to be relayed as an acoustic signal;
A second output unit for outputting the encoded acoustic signal;
Including a third electronic device comprising:
The acoustic communication system according to claim 5.

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