JP7412108B2 - speaker system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a speaker system having at least one speaker.

In recent years, speakers have been used to reproduce audio data distributed wirelessly. Unlike conventional speakers that only play music, some of these speakers are equipped with a microphone that collects the user's voice and have the ability to respond to the user's voice instructions. A speaker having a function of responding to voice instructions is called an AI (Artificial Intelligence) speaker or a smart speaker. Hereinafter, a speaker equipped with the above response function will be referred to as a smart speaker.

The smart speaker is connected to a network, performs a web search based on instructions recognized by the user's voice, and responds to the user with the results of the web search. Some smart speakers have the ability to communicate with electrical equipment installed in a user's room and control the operation of the electrical equipment. Regarding such smart speakers, there is a desire for a product that maintains a small housing and has excellent speaker performance for enjoying music.

On the other hand, in a system equipped with a plurality of speakers such as a home theater, a playback device that measures the environment of a room after the plurality of speakers are installed has been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system that controls crosstalk cancellation using position information acquired from a mobile terminal owned by a user, the position of a right channel speaker, and the position of a left channel. The sound reproduction system disclosed in Patent Document 1 analyzes sound propagation characteristics based on the positional relationship between a user and a speaker, and controls sound radiation based on the analysis result.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-93697

However, in the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, although the sound field is taken into consideration, the auditory characteristics of the user are not taken into consideration, and sound radiation suitable for each user is not performed.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a speaker system that emits sound in accordance with the hearing sensitivity of each individual user.

The speaker system according to the present invention includes a speaker that outputs sound, a control unit that controls the speaker, an input unit that includes a microphone into which instructions to the control unit are input , and a storage unit , When an instruction to start a hearing sensitivity test is input to the input unit, the control unit changes the sound pressure level stepwise for each divided band in which the frequency of the audio band is divided into a plurality of bands, and transmits the test sound to the speaker. and an instruction to select one test sound from among the plurality of types of test sounds that are output in stages for the divided band to be tested is inputted via the input unit. Then, the sound pressure setting means sets the sound pressure level corresponding to the selected test sound to the sound pressure level of the divided band; individual pattern generation means for generating a frequency characteristic pattern corrected to the sound pressure level set for each of a plurality of divided bands; Registered information in which the time-varying characteristics and the frequency characteristic pattern are recorded is stored, and the control unit refers to the registered information stored in the storage unit to detect sounds that match the time-varying characteristics of the audio collected by the microphone. The sound output control means further includes a voice determining means for identifying a user whose time change characteristics are recorded, and when the number of the users identified by the voice determining means is one, the sound output control means corresponds to the one user. Sound output control is performed using the frequency characteristic pattern recorded in conjunction with the user, and when there is a plurality of users identified by the voice determination means, the sound pressure level is determined for each frequency from the frequency characteristic pattern of the plurality of users. Sound output control is performed using a frequency characteristic pattern that is averaged .

According to the present invention, by conducting a test to measure the user's hearing sensitivity in the audio band, a frequency characteristic pattern with the sound pressure level corrected corresponding to the user is generated. Therefore, by adjusting the frequency characteristics of the sound output from the speaker using a frequency characteristic pattern, it is possible to radiate sound that corresponds to the hearing sensitivity of each individual user.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a speaker system according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing an example of the speaker system shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of a control section shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a table showing an example of a frequency range of a test sound output by the speaker system shown in FIG. 1 in a test mode. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a general usage method by a user for the speaker system shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation procedure in a test mode in the speaker system of the first embodiment. As a comparative example, it is a graph showing an example of a human voice band and hearing characteristics. 7 is a graph showing an example of a frequency characteristic pattern for correcting a user's hearing sensitivity, which is generated by the speaker system of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a case where the speaker system shown in FIG. 1 causes another information processing terminal to display a frequency characteristic pattern. 7 is a table showing an example of the frequency range of test sounds output by the speaker system of Embodiment 2 in test mode. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation procedure in a test mode in the speaker system of Embodiment 2. FIG. 7 is a graph showing an example of the content of correction for each subband in the second embodiment. 7 is a graph showing an example of a frequency characteristic pattern in Embodiment 2. FIG. 12 is a graph showing an example of time-varying characteristics acquired from a user's voice by the speaker system of Embodiment 3. 12 is a graph showing an example of time-varying characteristics acquired by the speaker system of Embodiment 3 from another user's voice. It is a graph showing an example of a frequency characteristic pattern for correcting hearing sensitivity for each of a plurality of users. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation procedure of a speaker system according to a third embodiment.

Embodiment 1.
The configuration of the speaker system according to the first embodiment will be explained. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a speaker system according to a first embodiment. The speaker system 1 includes an input section 2 , a storage section 3 , a communication section 4 , a control section 5 , an output section 6 , and a short-range wireless communication section 9 .

The input section 2 includes a first microphone 11, a second microphone 12, and an operation section 13. The output section 6 has a first speaker 7 and a second speaker 8. The communication unit 4 communicates with the server 50 via a network 100 such as the Internet. The communication connection between the communication unit 4 and the server 50 may be either wired or wireless, or may be a combination of both. The short-range wireless communication unit 9 wirelessly communicates with other electronic devices such as a television and a smart phone, for example, in accordance with a wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). The storage unit 3 is, for example, a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory.

The server 50 provides the speaker system 1 with information such as news and weather forecasts, and music data. Further, the server 50 stores a plurality of types of voice patterns in order to recognize the meaning of human voice. The storage unit 3 may store a plurality of types of voice patterns.

In the first embodiment, a case will be described in which the speaker system 1 has two speakers, but the number of speakers may be one. Moreover, although the case where the speaker system 1 has two microphones will be described, the number of microphones may be one. Further, before the speaker system 1 starts wireless communication with another electronic device, a detailed description of the pairing in which mutual authentication is performed with the other electronic device via the short-range wireless communication unit 9 will be omitted.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing an example of the speaker system shown in FIG. 1. FIG. The operation unit 13 has a plurality of buttons for the user to input instructions. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 2, the operation unit 13 includes a power button 31, a function button 32, and volume adjustment buttons 33a and 33b. The power button 31 is a button for switching between starting and stopping the speaker system 1.

The function button 32 is a button for the user to select an operation mode of the speaker system 1. The speaker system 1 has a test mode and a normal mode as operating modes. In the first embodiment, a case will be described in which there are two types of operation modes, but the number of operation modes is not limited to two types. Each time the user presses the function button 32 once, the operating mode of the speaker system 1 is switched from the currently selected operating mode to another operating mode. The normal mode is a mode in which the speaker system 1 plays music or outputs information such as news according to instructions input by the user. The test mode is a mode in which the speaker system 1 generates a frequency characteristic pattern that matches the user's hearing sensitivity based on the user's response to the test sound.

The volume adjustment button 33a is a button for the user to input an instruction to increase the volume of the sound output from each of the first speaker 7 and the second speaker 8. The volume adjustment button 33b is a button for the user to input an instruction to reduce the volume of the sound output from each of the first speaker 7 and the second speaker 8.

The configuration of the control section 5 shown in FIG. 1 will be explained. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the control section shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 5 includes a memory 16 that stores programs, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 15 that executes processing according to the programs stored in the memory 16. The memory 16 is, for example, a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory. As shown in FIG. 3, the control section 5 includes a sound output control means 21, a sound pressure setting means 22, an individual pattern generation means 23, and a sound determination means 24.

When the operation mode of the speaker system 1 is the normal mode, the sound output control means 21 and the sound determination means 24 mainly operate. When the operation mode of the speaker system 1 is the test mode, the sound output control means 21, the sound pressure setting means 22, and the individual pattern generation means 23 mainly operate. When the operation mode of the speaker system 1 is the test mode and the user's instructions are input by voice, the voice determination means 24 may operate in addition to these three means.

When the operation instruction for the test mode is input, the sound output control means 21 changes the sound pressure level stepwise for each divided band in which the frequency of the audio band is divided into a plurality of parts, and outputs the test sound to the first speaker 7. Output to . When the sound output control means 21 receives the frequency characteristic pattern for the first speaker 7 from the individual pattern generation means 23, it causes the second speaker 8 to output a test sound in the same manner as the first speaker 7.

FIG. 4 is a table showing an example of the frequency range of the test sound output by the speaker system shown in FIG. 1 in the test mode. The memory 16 shown in FIG. 1 stores the table shown in FIG. The test sound is a sound composed of a voice band of audible sound frequencies whose purpose is to reliably hear human speech. In the first embodiment, the frequency of the audio band is in the range of 800 Hz to 8 kHz. The table shown in FIG. 4 shows a case where the frequency range of 800 Hz to 8 kHz is divided into five subbands, band A to band E. For example, when the test target is band A, the sound output control means 21 generates an artificial sound that is a composite of a plurality of sounds with a frequency of 700 Hz to 900 Hz, and adjusts the artificial sound so that the sound pressure level is equal between the divided bands. is output to the first speaker 7. The sound output control means 21 performs the same operation for the second speaker 8 as it does for the first speaker 7.

Referring to FIG. 4, the frequency range of each band C to E has a bandwidth of 2000 Hz. On the other hand, the bandwidth of band A is 200 Hz, and the bandwidth of band B is 1100 Hz. Among bands A to E, the bandwidths of bands C to E are equal, but the bandwidths of bands A and B are different from the bandwidths of bands C to E. Let me explain the reason. If people continue to listen to sounds with a fixed bandwidth, they will become accustomed to the bandwidth even if the frequency changes, and their brains will predict the next subband test sound in advance. In this case, more accurate measurement of hearing sensitivity is hindered. Therefore, in order to prevent the human brain from predicting the test sound, the bandwidths of some of the plurality of divided bands are made different from those of other divided bands.

Further, in the normal mode, when data is input via the communication unit 4 or the short-range wireless communication unit 9, the sound output control means 21 transmits a sound signal corresponding to the input data to the first speaker 7 and the second speaker. The signal is transmitted to the speaker 8, and the first speaker 7 and the second speaker 8 are made to output the sound. At this time, if the frequency characteristic pattern of the user using the speaker system 1 has been received from the individual pattern generating means 23, the sound output control means 21 uses the frequency characteristic pattern to generate the first speaker 7 and the second speaker. Controls the sound output by 8. When there are separate frequency characteristic patterns corresponding to the two speakers, the sound output control means 21 uses the frequency characteristic pattern of the first speaker 7 to control the sound output of the first speaker 7, and controls the sound output of the second speaker 8. The frequency characteristic pattern of the second speaker 8 is used for output control.

When one test sound is selected via the input unit 2 from among the plurality of test sounds that are outputted in stages for the divided band to be tested, the sound pressure setting means 22 sets a sound pressure setting unit 22 that corresponds to the selected test sound. Set the sound pressure level to be the sound pressure level of the divided band to be tested. When the individual pattern generation means 23 receives information on the sound pressure level set for each of the plurality of divided bands from the sound pressure setting means 22, the individual pattern generation means 23 generates the sound pressure level set for each of the plurality of divided bands with respect to the frequency of the audio band. Generates a frequency characteristic pattern corrected to the level. The individual pattern generation means 23 passes the generated frequency characteristic patterns to the sound output control means 21 in correspondence with each of the first speaker 7 and the second speaker 8.

The audio determination means 24 compares the audio collected by one or both of the first microphone 11 and the second microphone 12 with a plurality of types of audio patterns stored in the storage unit 3 in the test mode. As a result of the matching, the voice determination means 24 selects a voice pattern that matches the collected voice from among a plurality of voice patterns, and when the information indicated by the selected voice pattern indicates the start of a test, outputs a sound instruction to start the test. The control means 21 is notified. Further, as a result of the comparison, if the information indicated by the voice pattern selected from the plurality of types of voice patterns is a selection instruction, the voice determination means 24 notifies the sound output control means 21 and the sound pressure setting means 22 of the selection instruction.

In the normal mode, when a voice is collected by one or both of the first microphone 11 and the second microphone 12, the voice determination means 24 transmits data of the collected voice to the server 50. When the voice determination means 24 receives data from the server 50 as a response to the voice data transmitted to the server 50, it transfers the received data to the sound output control means 21.

Next, the operation of the speaker system 1 according to the first embodiment will be explained. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of how the speaker system shown in FIG. 1 is generally used by a user. When the user U watches the television 60, the user U causes the speaker system 1 to output the sound instead of the speakers of the television 60, rather than listening to the sound through the speakers provided on the television 60. The distance Lst between the speaker system 1 and the television 60 is, for example, 2 m or more. The distance Lus between the user U and the speaker system 1 is, for example, 50 cm. The sound output control means 21 causes the first speaker 7 and the second speaker 8 to output sound corresponding to the sound data received from the television 60 via the short-range wireless communication section 9 in the normal mode.

Next, a case in which the speaker system 1 executes a test mode in order to generate a frequency characteristic pattern corresponding to the hearing sensitivity of the user U in the state shown in FIG. 5 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, the first speaker 7 is located at a position where the output sound tends to enter mainly the right ear of the user U. The second speaker 8 is located at a position where the output sound tends to enter mainly the left ear of the user U. User U does not necessarily have the same hearing sensitivity in his right ear and left ear. The hearing sensitivity of the right and left ears may be different. Therefore, when acquiring the frequency characteristic pattern of the right ear of the user U, the speaker system 1 executes the test mode using the first speaker 7, and when acquiring the frequency characteristic pattern of the left ear of the user U, the speaker system 1 executes the test mode using the first speaker 7. It is desirable to use the speaker 8 to execute the test mode.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation procedure in the test mode in the speaker system of the first embodiment. Since the test mode procedure for the first speaker 7 and the test mode procedure for the second speaker 8 overlap, here, the test mode procedure executed for the first speaker 7 will be explained. I will explain about it. Further, a case will be described in which the user U inputs an instruction to the speaker system 1 by voice, and the first microphone 11 collects the voice of the user U. Furthermore, for convenience of explanation, a variable k representing a divided band to be tested is used. k is an integer of 1 or more. Each of bands A to E shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to k=1 to 5, respectively, and kmax=5.

User U switches the operating mode of speaker system 1 from normal mode to test mode with television 60 turned off. For example, when the user U utters "shiken", the first microphone 11 collects the voice of the user U saying "shiken". The audio determination means 24 compares the audio collected by the first microphone 11 with a plurality of audio patterns stored in the storage unit 3. Then, the voice determining means 24 selects a voice pattern that matches the collected voice from a plurality of voice patterns, and if the information indicated by the selected voice pattern means an instruction to start a test, the instruction to start a test is input. It is determined that the The audio determination means 24 notifies the sound output control means 21 of the determination result.

The sound output control means 21 determines whether the test mode is selected at regular intervals (step S101). When the sound output control means 21 receives a notification from the voice determination means 24 that an instruction to start the test has been input, it sets the variable k to k=1 (step S102) and selects band A as the divided band to be tested. . Subsequently, the sound output control means 21 sets the voltage Va of the output amplifier of the first speaker 7 to 0.05V (step S103). The sound output control means 21 generates a test sound of band A, and causes the first speaker 7 to output the generated test sound (step S104).

The user U determines whether the test sound output from the first speaker 7 has a sound pressure level that is easy for him to hear, and responds to the speaker system 1 with the result in voice. For example, if the user U determines that the test sound is easy to hear, he or she responds by saying, "It's just right." When the user U determines that the sound is loud, he or she responds by saying "the sound is loud", and if the user U determines that the sound is low, he or she responds by saying "the sound is small". If the user U cannot determine whether or not the test sound output from the first speaker 7 is appropriate, the user U does not need to respond at all. The voice determination means 24 compares the voice of the user U's response with a plurality of types of voice patterns stored in the storage unit 3, and determines the information that the voice of the user U's response means. For example, when the voice in response from the user U is "just right," the voice determination means 24 inputs a selection instruction instructing the user U to determine that the sound pressure level is appropriate and to select that sound pressure level. It is determined that the The sound determination means 24 notifies the sound output control means 21 and the sound pressure setting means 22 of the determination result.

In response to the output of the test sound in step S104, the voice determining means 24 determines whether there is a selection instruction from the user U (step S105). If no selection instruction is input from the user U, the voice determining means 24 determines whether there is any other response (step S106). If the voice determining means 24 determines that the user does not respond to the outputted test sound, it notifies the sound output controlling means 21 of the determination result that no instruction is input. When the sound output control means 21 receives the determination result from the sound determination means 24, it increases the voltage Va set to the output amplifier of the first speaker 7 by 0.05V (step S107). After that, the sound output control means 21 generates a test sound with the changed voltage Va, and causes the first speaker 7 to output the generated test sound (step S104). In this way, by increasing the voltage Va of the output amplifier of the first speaker 7 in steps of 0.05V, the sound pressure level of the test sound emitted from the first speaker 7 corresponds to the voltage Va. It grows gradually.

On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S106, if the other response by the user U is a voice response saying "the sound is loud" (step S108), the voice determination means 24 causes the sound output control means 21 to lower the voltage Va. instruct. The sound output control means 21 reduces the voltage Va set to the output amplifier of the first speaker 7 by 0.05V in accordance with the instruction from the sound determination means 24 (step S109). After that, the sound output control means 21 generates a test sound with the changed voltage Va, and causes the first speaker 7 to output the generated test sound (step S104). Note that if the result of the determination in step S108 is that the other response by the user U is a voice response saying "the sound is low", the sound output control means 21 performs the same processing as in the case where there is no response in the determination of step S106. (Step S107).

In step S105, when a selection instruction is input from the user U, the audio determination means 24 notifies the sound output control means 21 and the sound pressure setting means 22 of the determination result. The sound pressure setting means 22 notifies the individual pattern generation means 23 of the sound pressure level set for band A. The sound output control means 21 adds 1 to the variable k and selects band B as the next divided band to be tested (step S111). Then, the sound output control means 21 sets the voltage Va of the output amplifier of the first speaker 7 to 0.05V (step S103). The control unit 5 sets an appropriate sound pressure level for the user U for each of the divided bands from band B to band E in the same manner as for band A (step S105). In step S110, when the variable k reaches kmax, the individual pattern generating means 23 generates a frequency characteristic pattern corrected to the sound pressure level set for each divided band from band A to band E, with respect to the frequency characteristic of the audio band. is generated (step S112). The individual pattern generation means 23 stores the generated frequency characteristic pattern in the storage unit 3 as correction data for user U's hearing sensitivity.

In this way, by collecting the user's response voice using one or both of the first microphone 11 and the second microphone 12 with respect to the test sound for each divided band, the sound pressure that the user U feels is easy to hear. Deduce the level. The test mode of the speaker system 1 consists of two steps: (1) collecting the optimum sound pressure level for the individual user, and (2) generating a frequency characteristic pattern to obtain the optimum hearing sensitivity for the individual user.

When watching television, the user usually sits at a certain distance from the television 60, as shown in FIG. In this case, if the user is an elderly person, the hearing characteristics are generally inferior to those of a younger person, so the volume of the television speaker may be turned up too high. Therefore, the sound from the TV speakers may leak into the neighboring house. Additionally, in the case of nursing homes, if users turn up the volume of the TV speakers indoors, they may miss important announcements within the nursing home, or the sound may leak into neighboring rooms, causing a nuisance to others. Sometimes.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, when the speaker system 1 is installed near the user, the speaker system 1 wirelessly communicates with the television 60, and outputs sound instead of the television 60's speakers. In the first embodiment, the output sound is corrected according to the user's hearing sensitivity. The user can easily hear the sound of the program broadcast on the television 60, and can avoid bothering others. Note that even if the user is not an elderly person, he or she may develop an acquired hearing loss condition due to causes other than aging, and the speaker system 1 can provide optimal sound to such a user as well.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing an example of a human voice band and auditory characteristics as a comparative example. The vertical axis in FIG. 7 is the sound pressure level (dB), and the horizontal axis is the frequency (Hz). The broken line shown in FIG. 7 is a graph showing the average value for men and women as the human voice band. The solid line shown in FIG. 7 is a graph showing the average values of human auditory characteristics for men and women in their 20s to 80s.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing an example of a frequency characteristic pattern for correcting the user's hearing sensitivity, which is generated by the speaker system of the first embodiment. The vertical axis in FIG. 8 is the sound pressure level (dB), and the horizontal axis is the frequency (Hz). The broken line shown in FIG. 8 is the same as the broken line shown in FIG. 7, and is a graph showing the human voice band. The solid lines shown in FIG. 8 are frequency characteristic patterns showing the relationship between frequency and sound pressure level in band A, band D, and band E. FIG. 8 shows that the user does not need to correct the sound pressure level in bands B and C, but increases the sound pressure level in bands A, D, and E.

Note that, with reference to FIG. 6, a case has been described in which the user inputs an instruction to the speaker system 1 by voice, but the instruction may also be input by operating the operation unit 13. For example, when the user presses the function button 32 while the speaker system 1 is operating in the normal mode, the speaker system 1 is switched from the normal mode to the test mode. The operation of the function button 32 at this time corresponds to an instruction to start the test. Further, if the user feels that the volume of the test sound is low, the user may press the volume adjustment button 33a, and if the user feels that the volume of the test sound is high, the user may press the volume adjustment button 33b. Furthermore, if the user feels that the volume of the test sound is just right, he or she may press the function button 32. The operation of the function button 32 at this time corresponds to a selection instruction. If the user wants to switch to the normal mode in the middle of the test mode, for example, by pressing and holding the function button 32 for 3 seconds or more, the control unit 5 determines that an instruction to switch to the normal mode has been input. Good too.

Further, in step S105 shown in FIG. 6, after the user responds with a voice saying "just right," the user may feel that the user wants to lower or raise the sound pressure level a little more than the selected sound pressure level. In this case, in step S105, after the selection instruction is input, the sound output control means 21 causes the first speaker 7 to output a test sound at the selected sound pressure level for confirmation to the user, and then The first speaker 7 is made to output a voice saying "Is this volume OK?" If the user responds with a voice saying "just right" to this voice output for confirmation, the control unit 5 proceeds to step S110. On the other hand, when the user responds by voice to "raise it a little" or "lower it a little" to the voice output for confirmation, the sound output control means 21 changes the voltage Va in units of 0.01V to change the voltage Va. The first speaker 7 is caused to output a test sound having the same sound pressure level. In this way, the sound pressure level of the first speaker 7 can be finely adjusted.

Furthermore, with reference to FIG. 6, a case has been described in which the speaker system 1 performs the test mode with the first speaker 7. However, when the speaker system 1 performs stereo reproduction, the first speaker 7 of the right channel and the second speaker 7 of the left channel Perform test mode on each channel of speaker 8. This is because the user's right and left ears are not necessarily able to hear sounds at the same sound pressure level, and the hearing sensitivity may differ between the right and left ears.

Furthermore, when performing the test mode with the first speaker 7 as described with reference to FIG. It doesn't have to be. In other words, the speaker system 1 may cause the speaker to be tested to mainly output the test sound among the two speakers. For example, when the first speaker 7 is the speaker to be tested, the sound output control means 21 may set the voltage ratio between the output amplifier of the first speaker 7 and the output amplifier of the second speaker 8 to 100:1.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, a case has been described in which the memory 16 shown in FIG. 1 stores the test program that causes the speaker system 1 to execute the test mode. You don't have to. For example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by a user stores a test program. In this case, the user operates the mobile terminal to establish a communication connection between the mobile terminal and the speaker system 1, and then causes the mobile terminal to execute the test program. When the mobile terminal executes the test program, the speaker system 1 that communicates with the mobile terminal operates according to the procedure shown in FIG. 6.

In the first embodiment, the user may be able to check his own frequency characteristic pattern in order to check how his hearing sensitivity is corrected. For example, the speaker system 1 may use the wireless communication function of the short-range wireless communication unit 9 to communicate with another information processing terminal operated by a user, and transmit the frequency characteristic pattern to the other information processing terminal. Other information processing terminals are, for example, computer terminals such as personal computers, and mobile terminals such as smart phones.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a case where the speaker system shown in FIG. 1 causes another information processing terminal to display a frequency characteristic pattern. The mobile terminal 70 shown in FIG. 9 stores a graph display program that is an application software program that causes the display unit 71 to display the frequency characteristic pattern received from the speaker system 1. The display section 71 is, for example, a liquid crystal display.

The individual pattern generation means 23 of the speaker system 1 transmits the frequency characteristic pattern to the mobile terminal 70 via the short-range wireless communication unit 9 in order to display the frequency characteristic pattern on the mobile terminal 70. When the mobile terminal 70 receives the frequency characteristic pattern from the speaker system 1, it stores the frequency characteristic pattern in a storage unit (not shown). When the user operates the mobile terminal 70 and inputs an instruction to display a frequency characteristic pattern, the mobile terminal 70 reads the frequency characteristic pattern from a storage section (not shown). Subsequently, the mobile terminal 70 starts a graph display program and causes the display unit 71 to display the frequency characteristic pattern as shown in FIG.

In this way, by displaying the frequency characteristic pattern generated by the speaker system 1 on his or her information processing terminal, the user can confirm in which division of the audio band his/her hearing sensitivity is decreasing. . Here, a case has been described in which the speaker system 1 uses the short-range wireless communication section 9 for communication connection with other information processing terminals, but the speaker system 1 may also communicate with other information processing terminals via the communication section 4 and the network 100. good.

The speaker system 1 of the first embodiment includes a first speaker 7 and a second speaker 8, a control section 5 that controls these speakers, and an input section 2 into which instructions to the control section 5 are input. The control section 5 includes a sound output control means 21, a sound pressure setting means 22, and an individual pattern generation means 23. When an instruction to start a hearing sensitivity test is input to the input unit 2, the sound output control means 21 changes the sound pressure level stepwise for each divided band in which the frequency of the audio band is divided into a plurality of parts, and generates a test sound. is output from one or both of the first speaker 7 and the second speaker 8. When one test sound is selected via the input unit 2 from among the plurality of test sounds that are outputted in stages for the divided band to be tested, the sound pressure setting means 22 sets a sound pressure setting unit 22 that corresponds to the selected test sound. Set the sound pressure level to be the sound pressure level of the divided band. The individual pattern generating means 23 generates a frequency characteristic pattern corrected to the sound pressure level set for each of the plurality of divided bands, with respect to the frequency characteristic of the audio band.

According to the first embodiment, a frequency characteristic pattern in which the sound pressure level is corrected in accordance with the user is generated by conducting a test to measure the user's hearing sensitivity in the audio band. Therefore, by adjusting the frequency characteristics of the sound output from one or both of the first speaker 7 and the second speaker 8 using a frequency characteristic pattern, sound radiation corresponding to the hearing sensitivity of each individual user is performed. be able to. Therefore, optimal reproduction sound can be provided to each user. As a result, not only elderly people and people with hearing loss, but also users who enjoy the sound output from the speaker can easily hear the sound.

It is also conceivable to measure the user's hearing sensitivity by dividing the frequency band to be tested into smaller sections. For example, referring to the table shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to use the center frequency sound as the test sound. In this case, since the frequency is a peak, the "cocktail party effect", which is one of the human auditory abilities, causes the user to try to hear a specific frequency. As a result, the correction characteristics of the generated frequency characteristic pattern may cause the sound pressure level to become uneven with respect to changes in frequency, and the frequency characteristics will become complicated. When the correction characteristic becomes an uneven frequency characteristic, the corrected sound becomes a sound that is difficult for the user to hear.

On the other hand, the speaker system 1 of the first embodiment uses a frequency range on the positive side and a frequency width on the negative side around the center frequency as the test sound so as to avoid the unreasonable situation that the correction makes it difficult to hear. is generating artificial sounds with a bandwidth that includes. Then, by letting the user hear the sound generated in such a bandwidth as a test sound, the user can easily hear the sound in the target bandwidth, and at the same time set the sound pressure level that is easy to hear in the target bandwidth. be able to.

Further, in the first embodiment, the sound output control means 21 may change the sound pressure level in stages so that the sound pressure level gradually increases. Since the volume of the test sound gradually increases, the user can predict the change in volume to some extent, and can prevent the user from suddenly hearing a loud sound.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the voice determining means 24 may recognize the response instruction to the test sound from the user's voice in the test mode. In this case, the user does not have to make a selection instruction by operating a button or the like in the test mode, so the burden of operation is reduced.

Embodiment 2.
In the second embodiment, the scope of hearing sensitivity correction is expanded to include not only the voice band but also the audible sound band. In the second embodiment, the same components as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

The configuration of the speaker system 1 according to the second embodiment will be explained. FIG. 10 is a table showing an example of the frequency range of the test sound output by the speaker system of the second embodiment in the test mode. In the second embodiment, the memory 16 shown in FIG. 1 stores the table shown in FIG. 10.

In the second embodiment, the frequency of the audible sound range is from 180 Hz to 22.4 kHz. The table shown in FIG. 10 shows a case where the frequency range of 180 Hz to 22.4 kHz is divided into nine subbands: bands F, G, A to E, H, and I. For example, when the test target is band F, the sound output control means 21 generates an artificial sound that is a composite of a plurality of sounds with a frequency of 180 to 355 Hz, and adjusts the artificial sound so that the sound pressure level is equal between the divided bands. is output to the first speaker 7. The sound output control means 21 performs the same operation for the second speaker 8 as it does for the first speaker 7.

Next, the operation of the speaker system 1 according to the second embodiment will be explained. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation procedure in the test mode in the speaker system according to the second embodiment. Also in the second embodiment, the case of the test mode executed in the case of the first speaker 7 will be explained, and the explanation of the case of the second speaker 8 will be omitted. For convenience of explanation, a variable j representing the divided band to be tested is used. j is an integer of 1 or more. Bands F, G, A to E, H, and I shown in FIG. 10 correspond to j=1 to 9, respectively, and jmax=9.

Further, since each process of steps S201 to S212 shown in FIG. 11 is similar to each process of steps S101 to S112 described with reference to FIG. 6, detailed explanation thereof will be omitted in the second embodiment. .

The control unit 5 sets the sound pressure level of each divided band by repeating the processing of steps S202 to S209 for each divided band in the order of bands F, G, A to E, H, and I. In step S210, when the variable j reaches jmax, the individual pattern generation means 23 generates a sound pressure set for each divided band of bands F, G, A to E, H, and I for the frequency characteristics of the audio band. A frequency characteristic pattern corrected to the level is generated (step S212). The individual pattern generation means 23 stores the generated frequency characteristic pattern in the storage unit 3 as correction data for the user's hearing sensitivity.

FIG. 12 is a graph showing an example of the content of correction for each subband in the second embodiment. The vertical axis in FIG. 12 is the sound pressure level (dB), and the horizontal axis is the frequency (Hz). The broken line shown in FIG. 12 is a graph showing the average value for men and women as the human voice band. The solid line shown in FIG. 12 is a graph showing the corrected frequency characteristics. In band F and band G, the corrected sound pressure level is larger than the broken line shown in FIG. 7 . In band H and band I, the corrected sound pressure level is also larger than the broken line shown in FIG. 7 .

FIG. 13 is a graph showing an example of a frequency characteristic pattern in the second embodiment. The vertical axis in FIG. 13 is the sound pressure level (dB), and the horizontal axis is the frequency (Hz). The broken line shown in FIG. 13 is the same as the broken line shown in FIG. 7, and is a graph showing the human voice band. The solid line shown in FIG. 13 is an example of a frequency characteristic pattern for correcting the user's hearing sensitivity. In the frequency characteristic pattern shown in FIG. 13, it can be seen that the sound pressure level is higher than the broken line mainly in band F, band G, band A, and bands E to I.

Note that since audible sounds have a wide frequency range, it is possible to use octave sounds as test sounds, but in the second embodiment, octave sounds are not used. This is because the test sound is a sound whose purpose is to provide high-quality sound to the user, and in order to achieve the purpose, it is necessary to present a sound that is easy for the user to hear. Therefore, in the second embodiment, instead of using an octave sound that people are not accustomed to hearing as a test sound, a sound with a bandwidth that is easy for people to hear and that is easy to respond to, such as "loud", is determined in advance through experiments. The obtained test sound is used.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, low frequency sounds of 100 Hz or less are not included in the test sounds. Explain why. The first reason is that since the age of the user who uses the speaker system 1 is not limited, the speaker system 1 does not cause discomfort to users who develop low-frequency disturbances such as tinnitus due to low-frequency sounds due to aging. It is. The second reason is that depending on the positional relationship between the location where the speaker system 1 is installed and the furniture materials, etc., the sound may resonate between the speaker system 1 and the furniture materials, generating unnecessary low frequency sounds. This is because it may be stored away. Therefore, it is desirable not to use low frequency sounds of 100 Hz or less as test sounds.

In the second embodiment, the sound output control means 21 expands the frequency range of the sound for generating the test sound to the audible sound band including the voice band. According to the second embodiment, in the audible sound band whose frequency range is wider than the audio band, by finely controlling the sound pressure level for each divided band, one or both of the first speaker 7 and the second speaker 8 The radiated sound output from is corrected. Therefore, the user can reliably hear sounds in a wide frequency range. As a result, for example, when playing music, high quality sound can be provided to the user in a wide frequency band.

Embodiment 3.
In the third embodiment, frequency characteristic patterns are managed for each user by using time-varying characteristics indicating the characteristics of the user's voice. In Embodiment 3, the same components as those described in Embodiments 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

Generally, as people grow older, their hearing characteristics decline with age. Therefore, it is conceivable that the user provides information on his or her own age to the speaker system 1, thereby making the age information useful for correcting the hearing sensitivity performed by the speaker system 1. However, as shown in FIG. 1, since the speaker system 1 is configured to be connected to an external network 100 via the communication unit 4, there is a risk that information on the user's age may leak from the speaker system 1 to the outside. Therefore, it is desirable that the user not input into the speaker system 1 any information that can identify an individual, including age.

In the third embodiment, the speaker system 1 adjusts the sound pressure level for each divided bandwidth to output high-quality sound in accordance with the user, without using information on the user's age. Correct the frequency characteristics. This also applies to the speaker system 1 described in the first and second embodiments. In the third embodiment, the speaker system 1 stores a frequency characteristic pattern for each user, and when the user uses the speaker system 1, the speaker system 1 corrects the audio output using the frequency characteristic pattern of the user.

Although a case will be described below in which the frequency characteristic pattern of the user's right ear and the frequency characteristic pattern of the left ear are the same, the hearing sensitivities of the user's right ear and left ear may be different. In other words, the description will be made assuming that the frequency characteristic pattern for the first speaker 7 and the frequency characteristic pattern for the second speaker 8 are the same.

A description will be given of time-varying characteristics that indicate voice characteristics for identifying a user. FIG. 14 is a graph showing an example of time-varying characteristics acquired from the user's voice by the speaker system according to the third embodiment. FIG. 15 is a graph showing an example of time-varying characteristics acquired by the speaker system of Embodiment 3 from another user's voice. FIG. 14 shows the time-varying characteristics of user UA's voice, and FIG. 15 shows the time-varying characteristics of user UB's voice. The vertical axis in FIGS. 14 and 15 is phase (degrees), and the horizontal axis is time (us). Comparing FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, it can be seen that the waveforms representing the time-varying characteristics of user UA's voice are different from the waveforms representing the time-varying characteristics of user UB's voice.

FIG. 16 is a graph showing an example of a frequency characteristic pattern for correcting hearing sensitivity for each of a plurality of users. The vertical axis in FIG. 16 is the sound pressure level (dB), and the horizontal axis is the frequency (Hz). The solid line shown in FIG. 16 is the frequency characteristic pattern of user UA, and the broken line shown in FIG. 16 is the frequency characteristic pattern of user UB. Referring to FIG. 16, it can be seen that the sound pressure level of user UA is corrected in band B and band E, and the sound pressure level of user UB is corrected in band C and band D.

The configuration of the speaker system 1 according to the third embodiment will be explained. In the third embodiment, the storage unit 3 shown in FIG. 1 stores registration information in which time-varying characteristics and frequency characteristic patterns of audio are recorded in association with the users for each of a plurality of users. For example, the storage unit 3 stores registration information in which the time change characteristics shown in FIG. 14 and the frequency characteristic pattern shown by the solid line in FIG. 16 are recorded in association with the user UA.

When the user's voice is collected by one or both of the first microphone 11 and the second microphone 12, the voice determination means 24 refers to the registration information stored in the storage unit 3. Then, the voice determining means 24 identifies, in the registered information, a user whose voice time change characteristic matching the collected voice time change characteristic is recorded. The voice determination means 24 reads out the frequency characteristic pattern recorded corresponding to the specified user from the registered information and passes it to the sound output control means 21. The sound output control means 21 controls the sound output of the first speaker 7 and the second speaker 8 using the frequency characteristic pattern received from the sound determination means 24 .

Next, the operation of the speaker system 1 according to the third embodiment will be explained. FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operating procedure of the speaker system according to the third embodiment. Although a case will be described here in which the first microphone 11 collects audio, the second microphone 12 may also collect audio.

In the normal mode, when the first microphone 11 collects the voice of a user who is in a room where the speaker system 1 is installed, the first microphone 11 passes data of the collected voice to the voice determination means 24 . When the audio determination unit 24 receives audio data from the first microphone 11, it collects time-varying characteristics from the received audio data (step S301). The voice determination means 24 refers to the registration information stored in the storage unit 3 in order to check whether a user having the collected time-varying characteristics is registered in the storage unit 3 (step S302).

As a result of referring to the registered information, if a time change characteristic that matches the collected time change characteristic is recorded in the registered information, the voice determination means 24 determines whether there is a plurality of users in the room (step S303). When the voice determining means 24 determines that there is only one user in the room, it reads out a frequency characteristic pattern specified by the time change characteristic of that user from the registered information (step S304). The sound determination means 24 passes the frequency characteristic pattern read from the registered information to the sound output control means 21.

On the other hand, if it is determined that multiple users are present in the room as a result of the determination in step S303, the voice determining means 24 collects the temporal change characteristics of the voices of each of the multiple users and refers to the registered information. The voice determining means 24 identifies time-varying characteristics that match each of the plurality of collected time-varying characteristics in the registered information. Furthermore, the audio determination means 24 reads out the frequency characteristic pattern recorded together with each of the plurality of specified time-varying characteristics from the registered information. Then, the audio determination means 24 calculates the average value of the plurality of read frequency characteristic patterns for each frequency (step S305). The sound determination means 24 passes a frequency characteristic pattern obtained by averaging sound pressure levels for each frequency from a plurality of frequency characteristic patterns to the sound output control means 21. In step S306, the sound output control means 21 controls the sound output of the first speaker 7 and the second speaker 8 using the frequency characteristic pattern received from the sound determination means 24.

As a result of the determination in step S302, if it is determined that the user having the collected time-varying characteristics is not registered in the storage unit 3, the voice determining unit 24 records the time-varying characteristics in the registration information of the storage unit 3 ( Step S307). The voice determining means 24 assigns a temporary user identifier to the time-varying characteristic recorded in the registration information. For example, UC is assigned as the user identifier. Later, when the user with the user identifier UC causes the speaker system 1 to execute the test mode, the individual pattern generation means 23 registers the frequency characteristic pattern together with the time change characteristics of the user UC collected by the audio determination means 24. Record information.

Note that in step S303 shown in FIG. 17, a case has been described in which the audio determination means 24 calculates the average value of a plurality of frequency characteristic patterns when there are multiple users in the room where the speaker system 1 is installed. Not limited to. For example, the audio determination means 24 selects the frequency characteristic pattern of one user from among the plurality of users present in the room where the speaker system 1 is installed, and notifies the sound output control means 21 of the selected frequency characteristic pattern. You can. The one user whose frequency characteristic pattern is selected may be a predetermined user, or may be the user who has the most voice data among the collected voices. The method of determining one user from whom a frequency characteristic pattern is selected is not limited.

In the speaker system 1 according to the third embodiment, the storage unit 3 stores registration information in which time-varying characteristics and frequency characteristic patterns of audio are recorded for each of a plurality of users in association with each user. The audio determination means 24 refers to the registered information stored in the storage unit 3 and records the time-varying characteristics of the audio that match the time-varying characteristics of the audio collected by one or both of the first microphone 11 and the second microphone 12. identify the user who was The sound output control means 21 performs sound output control using the frequency characteristic pattern recorded in association with the user specified by the sound determination means 24.

According to the third embodiment, when the user uses the speaker system 1 in the normal mode, for example, when the user gives a voice instruction such as "play music," the speaker system 1 displays the time-varying characteristics of the collected audio. Measure. Then, the speaker system 1 can identify the user by comparing the measured time change characteristics with the registration information stored in the storage unit 3. Therefore, the speaker system 1 can provide the user with sound based on the corrected sound pressure level and frequency characteristics using the frequency characteristic pattern corresponding to the specified user.

Furthermore, when multiple users such as family members listen to music played by the speaker system 1, the speaker system 1 stores combinations of audio time change characteristics and frequency characteristic patterns corresponding to the multiple users. , multiple users can be identified. The speaker system 1 performs predetermined processing such as calculating the average value of a plurality of frequency characteristic patterns of a plurality of identified users, and outputs sound using an appropriate frequency characteristic pattern. In this way, the speaker system 1 can provide appropriate sound for a plurality of users.

1 Speaker system, 2 Input section, 3 Storage section, 4 Communication section, 5 Control section, 6 Output section, 7 First speaker, 8 Second speaker, 9 Near field communication section, 11 First microphone, 12 Second microphone , 13 operation unit, 15 CPU, 16 memory, 21 sound output control means, 22 sound pressure setting means, 23 individual pattern generation means, 24 sound determination means, 31 power button, 32 function button, 33a, 33b volume adjustment button, 50 server, 60 television, 70 mobile terminal, 71 display, 100 network.

Claims (7)

A speaker that outputs sound,
a control unit that controls the speaker;
an input unit including a microphone into which instructions to the control unit are input;
has a storage unit ;
The control unit includes:
When an instruction to start a hearing sensitivity test is input to the input unit, the sound pressure level is changed stepwise for each divided band in which the frequency of the audio band is divided into a plurality of bands, and a test sound is output to the speaker. Output control means;
When an instruction to select one test sound from among the plurality of types of test sounds that are output in stages for the divided band to be tested is input through the input unit, the selected test sound sound pressure setting means for setting the sound pressure level corresponding to the sound pressure level to the sound pressure level of the divided band;
individual pattern generation means for generating a frequency characteristic pattern corrected to the sound pressure level set for each of the plurality of divided bands by the sound pressure setting means for the frequency characteristic of the audio band ;
The storage unit stores registration information in which the time change characteristics of audio and the frequency characteristic pattern are recorded for each of a plurality of users in association with the user,
The control unit further includes a voice determination unit that refers to registration information stored in the storage unit and identifies a user whose voice has a time-varying characteristic that matches a time-varying characteristic of the voice collected by the microphone. death,
The sound output control means includes:
When the number of the users identified by the voice determining means is one, controlling the sound output using the frequency characteristic pattern recorded in association with the one user;
When there is a plurality of users identified by the voice determination means, performing sound output control using a frequency characteristic pattern obtained by averaging sound pressure levels for each frequency from the frequency characteristic patterns of the plurality of users;
speaker system. The sound output control means changes the sound pressure level in stages so that the sound pressure level increases.
The speaker system according to claim 1. The plurality of subbands include subbands with unequal bandwidths that are frequency ranges.
The speaker system according to claim 1 or 2. The sound output control means expands the frequency range of the sound that generates the test sound to an audible sound band that includes the audio band.
The speaker system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. having two said speakers;
The sound output control means causes each of the two speakers to output the test sound when the instruction to start the test is input,
The individual pattern generation means generates the frequency characteristic pattern for each of the two speakers,
The speaker system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The storage unit stores a plurality of types of voice patterns including a voice pattern indicating a selection instruction,
The voice determining means includes:
The voice collected by the microphone is compared with the plurality of types of voice patterns, and if the collected voice and the voice pattern indicating the selection instruction match, it is determined that the instruction to select has been input. ,
The speaker system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. further comprising a communication unit that communicates with other information processing terminals,
The individual pattern generating means includes:
transmitting the frequency characteristic pattern to the other information processing terminal via the communication unit in order to display the frequency characteristic pattern on the other information processing terminal;
The speaker system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 .

Images