JPH08221081A - Sound transmission device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a sound transmission device which can transmit sound to an aimed listener alone. CONSTITUTION: By mutually shifting phases of aural signals to be supplies to individual speakers 36 to form synthesis sound waves whose surface wavefronts 104 are concave on the side of sound collecting region 100 whereas convex on the side of nondirectional speakers 36, the surface wave front 104 gradually become small and the synthesis sound waves converge to the region 100 by adjusting phase differences among respective aural signals. Then, the amplitude of the aural signal to be fed to each speaker 36 is controlled so that the sound pressure of the sound emitted from each speaker 36 is of a hearing level or lower. Since the synthesis sound waves are formed by superposing the sound waves emitted from each speaker 36, the sound pressure of the sound converged to the region 100 is of the hearing level or higher.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sound transmitting device, and more particularly, to a plurality of omnidirectional speakers, and by supplying a predetermined audio signal to each of the plurality of speakers, Sound transmission that generates a sound corresponding to an audio signal and transmits the sound to a predetermined sound collection range or to a sound collection range set based on the position of an object (human, animal, microphone, etc. as a sound transmission target) Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the problems to be solved by the invention
The transmission of predetermined information to a specific person among a large number of people gathering in a predetermined place (for example, contacting a station staff at a station premises, etc.) is performed by broadcasting the predetermined information through speakers. It is common to do so. However, in the information transmission by the above-mentioned simultaneous broadcasting, there is a possibility that a large number of people other than the specific person may be annoyed by broadcasting unrelated information. In addition, the confidentiality of information is impaired, which is not preferable.

Further, in relation to the above, a plurality of speakers are arranged so as to be located on a single virtual spherical surface, and the same sound is generated from each speaker at the same time, or they are arranged on the same plane. There is known a technique of forming a focus (virtual sound source) of a sound at which sounds emitted from each of the plurality of speakers are converged by generating the same sound by shifting the phases of the plurality of speakers to each other (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 10). 3-15950
No. 0 publication).

However, the above technique allows the listener to hear the sound radiated from the virtual sound source, and does not transmit the sound only to a specific listener.

On the other hand, conventionally, a plurality of TV cameras are arranged on the ceiling, and the positions of objects (predetermined humans, animals, objects, etc.) existing in the room are based on the image information taken by the plurality of TV cameras. There is an image recognition technology for detecting the.

However, when an object moves, the moving object is photographed by moving a plurality of television cameras and adjusting the focus in accordance with the moving object. As described above, since it is necessary to move the television camera to adjust the focus, there is a problem that a delay time occurs until the image data including the object is obtained.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and it is a first object of the present invention to provide a sound transmission device capable of transmitting sound only to a specific object. Sound transmission that can efficiently detect the position of an object as a sound transmission target by combining image recognition technology and sound transmission technology related to position detection, and can transmit sound only to the object based on the detected position. A second object is to provide a device.

[0008]

In order to achieve the first object, the invention according to claim 1 is to provide a plurality of omnidirectional speakers which emit a sound corresponding to a supplied audio signal, and a sound collecting device. Each of the plurality of speakers is set such that a sound collection range is set as an area range to be made, and a synthetic sound wave having a wavefront of an envelope surface of a wavefront of a sound wave emitted from each of the plurality of speakers is converged in the sound collection range. The phase of the audio signal to be supplied to the speaker is set to be offset from each other, and the amplitude of the audio signal is set so that the sound pressure of the sound emitted from each of the plurality of speakers becomes a level at which it is difficult to accurately grasp the content. Set
Control means for supplying the audio signal having the set phase and amplitude to each of the plurality of speakers.

In general, the wavefront of a sound wave emitted from an omnidirectional speaker (a surface connecting points at which vibration states are exactly the same at the same time) is a spherical surface having a concave side, and according to Huygens's principle. , The envelope surface of a spherical wave whose source is each point on this wave surface is the next wave surface. In this way, the sound is transmitted by forming the wavefronts in a chain. This also applies when a plurality of omnidirectional speakers are arranged so as to face in substantially the same direction and the same audio signal is supplied to each speaker at substantially the same timing, and a plurality of sound waves emitted from each speaker are superposed. To form a composite sound wave whose wavefront is the envelope surface of each wavefront of the plurality of sound waves. The composite sound wave is a spherical surface whose source is each point on the envelope surface of each wavefront (that is, the wavefront of the composite sound wave). The envelope surface of the wave becomes the next wave surface, and the sound is transmitted.

Based on the above, in the invention according to claim 1, first, the control means sets a sound collection range as a region range in which sound is to be collected. Here, the sound collection range may be set to a predetermined area range, or may be set to the position of the head of the object, for example, based on the position of the object.

Next, the control means controls the plurality of omnidirectional speakers so that a synthetic sound wave whose wavefront is the envelope surface of the wavefront of the sound wave emitted from each of the plurality of omnidirectional speakers converges in the sound collection range. The phases of the audio signals supplied to each are set so as to be shifted from each other. Specifically, since the Huygens' principle applies to the wavefront of the synthetic sound wave formed by superimposing a plurality of sound waves as described above, the control means sets the sound collection range 100 as shown in FIG. Then, the wavefront 10 in which the sound collection range 100 side is concave (the speaker 36 side is convex)
The phases of the audio signals supplied to the speakers are set to be shifted from each other so that the synthetic sound wave of No. 4 is formed. As a result, the wavefront of the synthetic sound wave gradually becomes smaller, so that the synthetic sound wave can be converged to the sound collection range by adjusting the phase difference between the respective audio signals.

Further, the control means sets each speaker so that the sound pressure of the sound emitted from each of the plurality of speakers is at a level at which it is difficult to accurately grasp the content (for example, the sound pressure is below an audible level for humans). The amplitude of the audio signal to be supplied to the speaker is set, and the audio signal whose phase and amplitude are set as described above is supplied to each of the plurality of speakers. Then, a sound corresponding to the supplied audio signal is emitted by the plurality of omnidirectional speakers.

As a result, the amplitude of the sound wave that diverges outside the sound collection range becomes weak, and the sound emitted from the speaker is prevented from being heard outside the sound collection range. Further, since the synthetic sound wave is formed by superimposing the sound waves emitted from the respective speakers, it is necessary to accurately grasp the content of the sound emitted from the speaker by the synthetic sound wave within the sound collection range where the synthetic sound waves converge. Is heard at a sound pressure level that is possible, for example, a sound pressure higher than the human audible level. Therefore, the sound can be transmitted only within the sound collection range.

In order to achieve the above first object,
The invention according to claim 2 is the same as the invention according to claim 1,
The control means, so that the amplitude of the audio signal supplied to the speaker whose distance from the sound collection range is shorter than a predetermined distance among the plurality of speakers is larger than the amplitude of the audio signal supplied to other speakers. It is characterized in that the amplitude of the audio signal is set.

In the invention according to claim 1 described above, the sound wave emitted from the speaker having a small distance from the sound collection range among the plurality of speakers has a large contribution to the formation of the synthetic sound wave. Therefore, as described in claim 2, the control means causes the amplitude of the audio signal supplied to the speaker of the plurality of speakers having a short distance from the sound collection range to be larger than the amplitude of the audio signal supplied to the other speakers. By setting the amplitude of the audio signal so that the sound emitted from the speaker is not heard outside the sound collection range, only the volume of the sound heard within the sound collection range is effectively increased. be able to.

Further, in order to achieve the first object,
The invention according to claim 3 is the same as the invention according to claim 1,
A first auxiliary speaker having directivity arranged toward the sound collecting range and a second auxiliary speaker arranged near the sound collecting range.
Further comprising at least one of the auxiliary speakers, and the control means supplies an audio signal to at least one of the first auxiliary speaker and the second auxiliary speaker.

The size of the range of convergence of the synthetic sound wave depends on the wavelength of the sound wave, and it is theoretically impossible to converge the synthetic sound wave to a range smaller than the range where the wavelength of the sound wave is the diameter. On the other hand, in general, a sound signal has components of respective frequencies superposed on each other, and it may be possible that a sound component of a relatively low frequency does not converge within the sound collection range, although it depends on the size of the sound collection range. .

Therefore, as described in the invention of claim 3, the first auxiliary speaker having directivity arranged toward the sound collecting range and the second auxiliary speaker arranged near the sound collecting range. It is preferable that at least one of the auxiliary speakers is provided, and the control means supplies a sound signal to at least one of the first auxiliary speaker and the second auxiliary speaker to generate a sound. As a result, the relatively low frequency sound component transmitted by the synthetic sound wave is diverged to the outside of the sound collection range, and even when the sound in the low frequency band within the sound collection range is insufficient, the first auxiliary speaker and the The sound emitted from at least one of the second auxiliary speakers enhances the sound heard in the sound collection range, particularly the sound in the low frequency band, and improves the sound quality of the sound heard in the sound collection range. .

Note that the relatively low frequency sound component transmitted by the synthetic sound wave diverges outside the sound collection range,
When a sound of a relatively low frequency is heard outside the sound collection range, the control means may be configured to remove or attenuate a component below a predetermined frequency of the audio signal supplied to each of the plurality of speakers. preferable.

In order to achieve the above first object,
The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 1,
The control means sets the phases of the audio signals supplied to each of the plurality of speakers so as to be shifted from each other so that the wavefront of the synthesized sound wave is disturbed by a predetermined value or less.

As described above, since the size of the range of convergence of the synthetic sound wave depends on the wavelength of the sound wave, the sound component having a relatively high frequency is excessively converged in a specific range within the sound collection range, and the sound is heard. It can be difficult. In such a case, as described in claim 4, the control means sets the phases of the audio signals supplied to each of the plurality of speakers so that they are displaced from each other so that the wavefront of the synthetic sound wave is disturbed by a predetermined value or less. Preferably. As a result, the relatively high frequency sound component transmitted by the synthetic sound wave is prevented from excessively converging and is made substantially uniform, so that the relatively high frequency sound is easily heard within the sound collection range.

Further, in order to achieve the above first object,
The invention of claim 5 is the same as the invention of claim 1,
Based on information indicating the state of the acoustic environment, a waveform of a reflected sound wave that reaches a sound collection range after being reflected by a reflector among sounds emitted from a predetermined speaker is calculated for each of the plurality of speakers. Based on the waveform of the reflected sound calculated by the calculation means and the first calculation means, the reflected wave is supplied to the predetermined speaker in order to cancel it by a sound wave that directly reaches the sound collection range from the predetermined speaker. A second calculation means for calculating a waveform of a sound signal to be reproduced for each of the plurality of speakers, and the control means outputs the sound signal calculated for each speaker by the second calculation means. It is characterized in that it is supplied to each of a plurality of speakers.

By the way, in the case of collecting sound as described above in an acoustic environment such as a room surrounded by a wall or a ceiling, the sound collection range is not limited to the sound directly arriving from the speaker but is also emitted from the speaker and Since the reflected sound reflected on the reflector, that is, the wall surface, ceiling, floor, curtain, window glass, etc. also reaches,
The sound heard within the sound collection range is a sound in which the above-mentioned reflected sound is superimposed on the sound that directly reaches from the speaker. Therefore, there arises an inconvenience that the sound quality of the sound heard within the sound collection range deteriorates.

Therefore, in the invention according to claim 5, the first computing means uses the information indicating the state of the acoustic environment, for example, the size of the acoustic environment, the temperature, the reflection coefficient and the phase rotation characteristic of each reflector. Of the sound emitted from the predetermined speaker, the waveform of the reflected sound wave that reaches the sound collection range after being reflected by the object to be reflected is calculated for each of the plurality of speakers, and the second calculating means calculates Based on the waveform of the reflected sound calculated by the calculation means, the waveform of the audio signal to be supplied to the predetermined speaker in order to cancel the reflected wave by the sound wave that directly reaches the sound collection range from the predetermined speaker For each of the. Then, the control means supplies the audio signal calculated for each speaker by the second calculation means to each of the plurality of speakers. As a result, even when a sound is collected in an acoustic environment such as a room surrounded by a wall or a ceiling, the sound quality of the sound heard within the sound collection range can be improved.

In order to achieve the above first object,
The invention according to claim 6 is the same as the invention according to claim 1,
It is characterized by further comprising position detection means for detecting the position of an object as a sound transmission target, and the control means sets the sound collection range based on the position of the object detected by the position detection means. .

In the sixth aspect of the invention, the control means sets the sound collection range based on the position of the object detected by the position detection means. For example, the position of the head of the object is set as the sound collection range. This allows
Even if the position of the object changes, it is possible to control so that only the object hears the sound.
The position detecting means may be composed of a television camera that captures an image including an object and an image processing device that performs image processing of the image information captured by the television camera to detect the position of the object, and detects the temperature distribution in the room. It can be configured by an infrared sensor or the like that detects the position of the object.

In order to achieve the above first object,
The invention of claim 7 is the same as the invention of claim 6,
The position detecting means further comprises position estimating means for estimating the position and direction of the ear of the object whose position is detected, and the control means is based on the position and direction of the ear of the object estimated by the position estimating means. , The sound collection range is set at a position that matches the hearing directivity of the object.

In the invention according to claim 7, the position estimating means estimates the position and direction of the ear of the object whose position is detected by the position detecting means, and the control means is the ear of the object estimated by the position estimating means. Based on the position and direction of, the sound collection range is set to a position that matches the hearing directivity of the object. This allows the object to hear the sound more clearly.

In order to achieve the above first object,
The invention according to claim 8 is the same as the invention according to claim 1,
Third calculating means for calculating, for each of the plurality of speakers, a phase difference between a plurality of audio signals corresponding to a plurality of sounds to be emitted from a predetermined speaker to each of the plurality of sound collection ranges; Fourth computing means for computing a waveform of an audio signal obtained by superimposing a plurality of audio signals whose phase difference has been computed by the computing means for each of the plurality of speakers,
Further, the control means supplies the audio signal obtained by superimposing the plurality of audio signals calculated for each speaker by the fourth calculating means to each of the plurality of speakers.

When a plurality of sound collection ranges are set and sounds are to be collected in each sound collection range, as described in claim 8, the third calculation means causes a plurality of sound collection ranges from a predetermined speaker. Of the plurality of loudspeaker signals corresponding to the plurality of sounds to be emitted to each of the plurality of speakers, the fourth computing means calculates the phase difference by the third computing means. The waveform of the audio signal on which the audio signal of 1 is superimposed is calculated for each of the plurality of speakers. Then, it is preferable that the control means supplies to each of the plurality of speakers an audio signal in which the plurality of audio signals calculated for each speaker by the fourth calculation means are superimposed. Thereby, it is possible to collect sounds in a plurality of sound collection ranges without providing a plurality of sound transmission devices according to the present invention.

In the above, the third computing means calculates the phase difference of the plurality of audio signals corresponding to the plurality of sounds to be emitted from the predetermined speaker to each of the plurality of sound collection ranges, for each of the plurality of speakers. Needless to say, different sounds can be collected for each sound collection range because the calculation is performed.

In order to achieve the above first object,
The invention according to claim 9 is the same as the invention according to claim 8,
Position detecting means for detecting the position of the object as a sound transmission target, and position estimating means for estimating the position of the left ear and the position of the right ear of the object whose position is detected by the position detecting means, The control means sets a sound collection range corresponding to each ear based on the positions of the left ear and the right ear estimated by the position estimation means.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the eighth aspect, the position detecting means detects the position of the object, and the position estimating means detects the left and right ears of the object whose position is detected by the position detecting means. Estimate the position of. The control means sets the sound collection range corresponding to each ear based on the positions of the left and right ears estimated by the position estimation means. For example, an area range having a predetermined size including the estimated position of the left ear may be set as the sound collection range corresponding to the left ear.

Thus, in each of the sound collection range corresponding to the position of the left ear and the sound collection range corresponding to the position of the right ear of the object, the sound emitted from the predetermined sound source is located at the left side of the sound source. By collecting the recorded sound and the sound recorded at the position on the right side, it is possible to make the object feel stereo.

In order to achieve the above first object,
The invention according to claim 10 is the invention according to claim 1, further comprising an object detection means for detecting whether or not an object as a sound transmission target has arrived within a predetermined sound collection range, and the control is performed. The means supplies an audio signal to each of the plurality of speakers when the object detection means detects that an object has arrived within the sound collection range.

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, the detecting means detects whether or not the object has arrived within a predetermined sound collection range. The control means supplies an audio signal to each of the plurality of speakers when the detection means detects that the object has arrived within the sound collection range. As a result, it is possible to collect sound in the sound collection range and make the object hear the sound only when the object arrives within the sound collection range. For example, the object arrived in front of a predetermined exhibit. In this case, by collecting the announcement explaining the exhibit, the object can hear the announcement from the beginning.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned first object,
The invention according to claim 11 is the invention according to claim 1, further comprising environment detecting means for detecting a state of the acoustic environment, wherein the control means changes the state of the acoustic environment detected by the environment detecting means. In this case, at least one of the amplitude and the phase difference of the audio signal supplied to each of the plurality of speakers is changed based on the changed state of the acoustic environment.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the environment detecting means is a state of the acoustic environment, for example, the temperature in the room, the wall surface, the floor surface, the ceiling, etc. of the room as a reflector that reflects the sound emitted from the speaker. The state (for example, whether or not the window glass is covered with a curtain) is detected. The control means, when the state of the acoustic environment detected by the environment detecting means changes, based on the changed state of the acoustic environment, the amplitude and phase difference of the reflected wave canceling component of the audio signal supplied to each of the plurality of speakers. Change at least one of. As a result, the sound quality of the sound heard within the sound collection range can be improved regardless of the change in the state of the acoustic environment.

In order to achieve the second object,
According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of omnidirectional speakers that emit a sound corresponding to the supplied audio signal and a wide-angle fixed-focus lens that is arranged at a predetermined position are provided. Photographing means for photographing an area including the object, position recognizing means for recognizing the position of the object from image information of the area photographed by the photographing means,
A sound collection range is set based on the position of the object recognized by the position recognition means, and a synthetic sound wave having a wavefront of the envelope of the wavefront of the sound wave emitted from each of the plurality of speakers converges in the sound collection range. As described above, the phase of the audio signal to be supplied to each of the plurality of speakers is set to be offset from each other, and the sound pressure of the sound emitted from each of the plurality of speakers is at a level at which it is difficult to accurately grasp the contents. A control means for setting the amplitude of the audio signal so as to supply the audio signal with the phase and the amplitude set to each of the plurality of speakers.

According to the twelfth aspect of the invention, the photographing means includes a wide-angle fixed focus lens arranged at a predetermined position. As a result, regardless of whether the object is moving or stationary, the object can be photographed without changing the direction of the photographing means (such as a television camera) following the movement of the object. . In addition, since the height of objects, people, animals, etc. from the floor and the ground is almost fixed, and the wide-angle fixed-focus lens has the characteristic that the depth of focus is large. The object can be photographed without having it, that is, without performing focus adjustment.

In this way, the position of the object can be quickly recognized without changing the direction of the photographing means or adjusting the focus following the movement of the object. Further, since the mechanical actuation mechanism for changing the orientation of the photographing means and adjusting the focus as described above is not required, the structure of the photographing means and the sound extraction device can be simplified and the mechanical operation can be simplified. Durability can be improved by reducing the number of operating parts.

The wide-angle fixed-focus lens is arranged at, for example, a flat surface such as a ceiling of a room, a corner formed by two surfaces of the ceiling and a wall, and a total of three surfaces including the ceiling and the wall. It can be a corner made by.

Further, in the invention of claim 12, the position of the object is recognized by the image recognition means from the image information of the area photographed by the photographing means as described above, and the control means is based on the position of the object. To set the sound collection range. For example, when the object is a human, the position of the head of the object may be set as the sound collection range.

Then, the control means is similar to the invention described in claim 1, in which the synthetic sound wave having the wavefront of the envelope surface of the sound wave emitted from each of the plurality of omnidirectional speakers falls within the sound collection range. In order to converge, the phase of the audio signal supplied to each of the plurality of speakers is set to be shifted from each other, and the sound pressure of the sound emitted from each of the plurality of speakers is difficult to accurately grasp the contents. The amplitude of the audio signal is set so that Further, when the control means supplies the audio signal whose phase and amplitude are set in this way to each of the plurality of speakers, the plurality of omnidirectional speakers emit a sound corresponding to the supplied audio signal.

As a result, the amplitude of the sound wave diverging outside the sound collection range becomes weak, the sound emitted from the speaker is prevented from being heard outside the sound collection range, and the synthetic sound wave is emitted from each speaker. Since the sound waves are formed by being superposed, the sound waves are heard at a sound pressure level at which the content can be accurately grasped within the sound collection range where the synthetic sound waves converge. Therefore, the sound can be transmitted only within the sound collection range set based on the position of the object.

In order to achieve the second object,
According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the twelfth aspect, a plurality of the photographing means are provided, and each photographing means further includes an area sensor arranged at an image forming point of the wide-angle fixed focus lens, The position recognizing means processes different photographic information photographed by the plurality of photographic means to recognize the shape of the object, and calculates three-dimensional coordinates of the object recognized by the shape recognizing means. And a three-dimensional coordinate calculation means.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of photographing means are provided, and each photographing means further comprises an area sensor arranged at the image forming point of the wide-angle fixed focus lens. That is, the image of the object photographed by the photographing means through the wide-angle fixed focus lens is formed on the area sensor. In this way, the regions including the object are photographed from different positions by the plurality of photographing means.

The shape recognition means processes the different photographing information photographed by the plurality of photographing means to recognize the shape of the object. To recognize the shape of an object, for example, as in the invention of claim 14 described later,
Of a large number of cubic microspaces obtained by virtually subdividing the three-dimensional space along each of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis, the region formed by the microspace occupied by the object You may recognize by asking,
Further, for example, different photographing information is converted into flattened image information by a plurality of photographing means, and at least the front surface, the back surface, the left side surface of the object are converted from the converted image information.
The image information of the right side surface and the plane surface may be obtained, and the obtained image information may be combined and recognized.

The three-dimensional coordinate calculation means calculates the three-dimensional coordinates of the object recognized by the shape recognition means or a predetermined part of the object. In general, an object is not limited to points, but is a set of points. Therefore, all three-dimensional coordinates of points included in an object may be calculated, or all points belonging to a boundary that demarcates the object and the three-dimensional space. The three-dimensional coordinates of may be calculated. Further, for example, the height or length may be obtained by presetting (storing) a specific position and calculating the three-dimensional coordinates of the specific position.

The shape recognizing means and the three-dimensional coordinate calculating means which constitute the image recognizing means in this manner can promptly determine the three-dimensional coordinates of the object and promptly recognize the position of the object.

In order to achieve the above second object,
According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the shape recognizing means sets a three-dimensional space in an X axis, a Y axis, and a Z based on different image information captured by the plurality of capturing means. It is possible to recognize the shape of an object by finding the area formed by the minute space occupied by the object among the many cubic minute spaces obtained by virtually subdividing along each direction of the axis. Characterize. According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, by the shape recognition means, a three-dimensional space is virtually subdivided along each of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis, and a large number of cubic microspaces are obtained. The shape of the object is recognized by finding the area formed by the minute space occupied by the object. Here, the minute area can be subdivided to the limit of the resolution of the area sensor. Therefore, the shape of the object can be recognized in detail.

In order to achieve the above second object,
According to a fifteenth aspect of the invention, in the thirteenth aspect of the invention, the shape recognizing means sets a three-dimensional space in an X-axis, a Y-axis, and a Z-axis based on different image information captured by the plurality of image capturing means. From a large number of cubic microspaces obtained by virtually subdividing along each direction of the axis, the microspaces included in the viewing angle for projecting the object from each photographing means are extracted and extracted. It is characterized in that the shape of an object is recognized by obtaining a region formed by a minute space included in all the minute spaces.

In the image information photographed by the plural photographing means according to the thirteenth aspect, there is a shadow (blind spot) area as shown in FIG. 34, for example. Therefore, according to the fifteenth aspect, the shape recognition means sets the three-dimensional space along the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions based on the different image information captured by the plurality of image capturing means. Of a large number of cubic microspaces obtained by virtually subdividing, microspaces included in the viewing angle for projecting an object from each photographing means are extracted, and included in all of the extracted microspaces. The shape of the object is recognized by finding the area formed by the minute space.

By recognizing the shape of the object in this way, the shadow (blind spot) region can be eliminated and the shape of the object can be accurately recognized.

In order to achieve the above second object,
According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the twelfth aspect, a plurality of the photographing means are provided, and each photographing means further includes an area sensor arranged at an image forming point of the wide-angle fixed focus lens, It is characterized in that the position recognition means acquires the two-dimensional coordinates formed on the area sensor of each photographing means, and recognizes the position of the object based on the plurality of acquired two-dimensional coordinates.

In the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, the three-dimensional coordinates can be calculated backward if the two-dimensional coordinates of the points on the area sensors of the plurality of photographing means are known. The two-dimensional coordinates imaged on the area sensor can be acquired, and the position (three-dimensional coordinates) of the object can be accurately recognized based on the acquired two-dimensional coordinates.

In order to achieve the above second object,
According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of omnidirectional speakers emitting a sound corresponding to the supplied audio signal, a wide-angle fixed focus lens arranged at a predetermined position, and an image forming point formed by the lenses are arranged. An image pickup unit that is provided with an area sensor and takes an image of an area including an object as a sound transmission target, and is arranged in the vicinity of the image pickup unit, and reflects an image of the object so as to form an image on the area sensor. Reflecting means, an object image reflected by the reflecting means and formed on the area sensor, and an area image of each of the object images formed on the area sensor without being reflected by the reflecting means. The two-dimensional coordinates of the object are acquired by calculating the three-dimensional coordinates of the object based on the acquired two-dimensional coordinates. Position recognizing means for recognizing the position, and setting a sound collection range based on the position of the object recognized by the position recognizing means, and synthesizing the envelope surface of the wavefront of the sound wave emitted from each of the plurality of speakers as the wavefront. The phase of the audio signal to be supplied to each of the plurality of speakers is set to be offset from each other so that the sound wave converges in the sound collection range, and the sound pressure of the sound emitted from each of the plurality of speakers is accurately set. Control means for setting the amplitude of the audio signal to a level at which it is difficult to grasp and supplying the audio signal with the phase and amplitude set to each of the plurality of speakers. To do.

According to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, the photographing means includes a wide-angle fixed focus lens arranged at a predetermined position and an area sensor arranged at an image forming point of the lens. Moreover, the area including the object is photographed by the photographing means.

The reflecting means is arranged near the photographing means. The reflecting means may be arranged along a wall, may be L-shaped, or may be curved, as shown in (G) to (L) of FIG. 39, for example. The image of the object is reflected by the reflecting means so as to form an image on the area sensor.

Then, the image recognizing means has areas of the object image reflected on the area sensor by being reflected by the reflecting means and the object image formed on the area sensor without being reflected by the reflecting means. Obtain two-dimensional coordinates on the sensor. In this way, even if there is only one photographing means, a plurality of object images are formed on the area sensor provided in the single photographing means, and a plurality of two-dimensional coordinates are acquired. Therefore, similarly to the invention described in claim 16 described above, the image recognition means can accurately recognize the position (three-dimensional coordinate) of the object based on the acquired two-dimensional coordinates.

As described above, since the reflecting means can form another object image on the area sensor, the three-dimensional coordinates of the object can be calculated and the position of the object can be calculated even if there is only one photographing means. Can be accurately recognized.

According to the seventeenth aspect of the invention, the position of the object is recognized by the image recognizing means as described above, and based on the position of the object by the control means in the same manner as the invention of the twelfth aspect. After setting the sound collecting position, the sound can be transmitted only within the sound collecting range.

In order to achieve the above second object,
The invention according to claim 18 is the invention according to any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein the control unit is a speaker whose distance from the sound collection range is shorter than a predetermined distance among the plurality of speakers. The amplitude of the audio signal is set so that the amplitude of the audio signal supplied is larger than the amplitude of the audio signal supplied to the other speaker.

According to the invention of claim 18, claim 2
Similar to the invention described above, the sound wave emitted from the speaker of the plurality of speakers whose distance from the sound collection range is small contributes to the formation of the synthetic sound wave to a large extent. The sound emitted from the speaker is collected by setting the amplitude of the audio signal so that the amplitude of the audio signal supplied to the speaker whose distance from the range is small is larger than the amplitude of the audio signal supplied to other speakers. It is possible to efficiently increase only the volume of the sound heard within the sound collection range without being heard outside the sound range.

In order to achieve the second object,
A nineteenth aspect of the invention is the invention according to any one of the twelfth to seventeenth aspects, in which the first auxiliary speaker having directivity arranged toward the sound collecting range and the vicinity of the sound collecting range are provided. Further, at least one of the second auxiliary speakers arranged in the above is further provided, and the control means supplies an audio signal to at least one of the first auxiliary speaker and the second auxiliary speaker.

According to the invention of claim 19, claim 3
Similarly to the invention described above, the sound component of a relatively low frequency transmitted by the synthetic sound wave is diverged outside the sound collection range, so that when the sound in the low frequency band within the sound collection range is insufficient,
The sound quality of the sound heard in the sound collection range, particularly the sound in the low frequency band, and the sound heard in the sound collection range due to the sound emitted from at least one of the first auxiliary speaker and the second auxiliary speaker. Will be improved.

By the way, the sound component of relatively low frequency transmitted by the synthetic sound wave diverges outside the sound collection range,
When a sound of a relatively low frequency is heard outside the sound collection range, the control means may be configured to remove or attenuate a component below a predetermined frequency of the audio signal supplied to each of the plurality of speakers. preferable.

Further, in order to achieve the second object,
According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the twelfth to seventeenth aspects, the control means includes each of the plurality of loudspeakers so that a disturbance of a predetermined value or less occurs in a wavefront of the synthesized sound wave. It is characterized in that the phases of the audio signals to be supplied to are set to be shifted from each other.

As described above, since the size of the range of convergence of the synthetic sound wave depends on the wavelength of the sound wave, the sound component of relatively high frequency is excessively converged in a specific range within the sound collection range, and the sound is heard. It can be difficult. In such a case, as described in claim 20, the control means sets the phases of the audio signals supplied to each of the plurality of speakers so as to be shifted from each other so that the wavefront of the synthetic sound wave is disturbed by a predetermined value or less. Preferably. As a result, the relatively high frequency sound component transmitted by the synthetic sound wave is prevented from excessively converging and is made substantially uniform, so that the relatively high frequency sound is easily heard within the sound collection range.

In order to achieve the above second object,
The invention according to claim 21 is the invention according to any one of claims 12 to 17, in which sound reflected from a predetermined speaker is reflected by a reflector based on information indicating a state of an acoustic environment. And a predetermined speaker based on the waveform of the reflected sound calculated by the first calculating means for calculating the waveform of the reflected sound wave reaching the sound collection range for each of the plurality of speakers. Further comprising: second computing means for computing, for each of the plurality of speakers, a waveform of an audio signal to be supplied to the predetermined speaker in order to cancel the reflected wave by a sound wave that directly reaches the sound collection range. The control means supplies the audio signal calculated for each speaker by the second calculation means to each of the plurality of speakers.

According to the invention of claim 21, claim 5
Similar to the described invention, the first calculation means, based on the information indicating the state of the acoustic environment, the reflected sound waves that reach the sound collection range after being reflected by the reflector among the sounds emitted from the predetermined speaker. Is calculated for each of the plurality of speakers, and the second calculation unit cancels the reflected wave by the sound wave that directly reaches the sound collection range from the predetermined speaker based on the calculated waveform of the reflected sound. The waveform of the audio signal to be supplied to the predetermined speaker is calculated for each of the plurality of speakers, and the control means outputs the audio signal calculated for each speaker by the second calculating means to each of the plurality of speakers. Supply. As a result, even when collecting sound in an acoustic environment such as a room surrounded by walls and ceilings,
It is possible to improve the sound quality of the sound heard within the sound collection range.

In order to achieve the second object,
A twenty-second aspect of the present invention is the invention according to any one of the twelfth to seventeenth aspects, wherein first ear estimation means estimates the position and direction of the ear of the object whose position is recognized by the position recognition means. The control means sets the sound collection range to a position that matches the hearing directivity of the object based on the position and direction of the ear of the object estimated by the first ear estimation means. Is characterized by.

According to the invention of claim 22, claim 7
Similar to the invention described above, the position estimating means estimates the position and direction of the ear of the object whose position is detected by the position detecting means, and the control means determines the position and direction of the ear of the object estimated by the position estimating means. Based on this, the sound collection range is set at a position that matches the hearing directivity of the object.
This allows the object to hear the sound more clearly.

In order to achieve the second object,
The invention according to claim 23 is the invention according to any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein a plurality of voices corresponding to a plurality of sounds to be emitted from a predetermined speaker to each of the plurality of sound collection ranges are provided. Third computing means for computing the phase difference of the signal for each of the plurality of speakers, and a waveform of the audio signal obtained by superimposing the plurality of audio signals of which the phase difference is calculated by the third computing means, to the plurality of speakers. And a fourth computing means for computing each of the above, wherein the control means superimposes a plurality of audio signals computed for each speaker by the fourth computing means on the audio signals of the plurality of speakers. It is characterized by supplying to each.

According to the invention of claim 23, claim 8
Similarly to the described invention, when a plurality of sound collection ranges are set and sounds are to be collected in each sound collection range, the third calculation means is issued from a predetermined speaker to each of the plurality of sound collection ranges. The phase difference between the plurality of audio signals corresponding to the plurality of sounds to be reproduced is calculated for each of the plurality of speakers, and the fourth calculating means is the third calculating means.
The waveform of the audio signal obtained by superimposing the plurality of audio signals whose phase difference has been calculated by the calculation means is calculated for each of the plurality of speakers. The control means supplies the plurality of speakers with the sound signal obtained by superimposing the plurality of sound signals calculated for each speaker by the fourth calculating means. Therefore, a plurality of sound transmission devices according to the present invention should be provided. Instead, each sound can be collected in a plurality of sound collection ranges.

In the above description, the third calculation means calculates the phase difference of the plurality of audio signals corresponding to the plurality of sounds to be emitted from the predetermined speaker to each of the plurality of sound collection ranges, for each of the plurality of speakers. Needless to say, different sounds can be collected for each sound collection range because the calculation is performed.

In order to achieve the second object,
The invention according to claim 24 is the invention according to any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein the position of the left ear and the position of the right ear of the object whose position is recognized by the position recognition means are estimated. The ear estimation unit is further provided, and the control unit sets a sound collection range corresponding to each ear based on the positions of the left ear and the right ear estimated by the second ear estimation unit. And

According to the invention of claim 24, claim 9
Similar to the described invention, the control means sets the sound collection range corresponding to each ear based on the positions of the left ear and the right ear estimated by the position estimation means. Thus, in each of the sound collecting range corresponding to the left ear and the sound collecting range corresponding to the right ear of the object, the sound emitted from the predetermined sound source is recorded at the left position toward the sound source, and the right position. By collecting the sounds recorded in step 3, it is possible to make the object feel stereo.

In order to achieve the above second object,
A twenty-fifth aspect of the invention is the invention according to any one of the twelfth to seventeenth aspects, further comprising object detection means for detecting whether or not the object has arrived within a predetermined sound collection range, The control means supplies an audio signal to each of the plurality of speakers when the object detection means detects that an object has arrived within the sound collection range.

According to the invention of claim 25, claim 1
Similarly to the invention described in 0, when the detection unit detects that the object has arrived within the sound collection range, the control unit supplies an audio signal to each of the plurality of speakers.
Only when the object arrives within the sound collection range, it is possible to collect sound in the sound collection range and make the object hear the sound. Therefore, for example, when an object arrives in front of a predetermined exhibit, the object can be heard from the beginning by collecting an announcement explaining the exhibit.

Further, in order to achieve the second object,
A twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention is the invention according to any one of the twelfth to seventeenth aspects, further comprising environment detection means for detecting a state of an acoustic environment, and the control means is detected by the environment detection means. When the state of the acoustic environment changes, at least one of the amplitude and the phase difference of the audio signal supplied to each of the plurality of speakers is changed based on the changed state of the acoustic environment.

According to the invention of claim 26, claim 1
Similarly to the invention described in 1, when the state of the acoustic environment detected by the environment detecting means changes, the control means reflects the audio signal supplied to each of the plurality of speakers based on the changed state of the acoustic environment. Since at least one of the amplitude and the phase difference of the wave canceling component is changed, the sound quality of the sound heard within the sound collection range can be improved regardless of the change in the state of the acoustic environment.

[0083]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[First Embodiment] Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
An embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the sound transmission device 10 according to the first embodiment has a plurality (n) arranged in a matrix at substantially equal intervals on a ceiling 86 of a room 84 including a sound collection range described later.
Speaker modules 30 (8 × 8 in FIG. 1),
A central control unit 11 that controls the entire sound transmitting device 10 is provided, and each speaker module 30 and the central control unit 11 are connected via a communication cable 26.
Each speaker module 30 includes one omnidirectional speaker 36 arranged toward the floor of the room 84.
Position information indicating the arrangement position of each speaker 36 is stored in advance in a ROM 16 (see FIG. 2) provided in the central control device 11 described later.

A tape reproducing device 90 for supplying a sound emitted from the speaker 36 is connected to the central control device 11 via a filter amplifier 92. In the first embodiment and the second to ninth embodiments to be described later, an example in which the tape reproducing device 90 is used as the audio device that supplies the sound emitted from the speaker 36 has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. However, another audio device such as a CD player or a microphone for collecting and transmitting the voice of the announcer may be used.

As shown in FIG. 2, the speaker module 3
0 is an active control circuit 32 that receives audio signal data from the central control device 11 side and controls the output timing of the audio signal data to the speaker 36, and a filter amplifier 34 that cuts and amplifies the audio signal. When,
An omnidirectional speaker 36 that converts a voice signal into voice and outputs the voice
And so on. Active control circuit 32
Is an arithmetic unit 40, a network interface 38 that performs communication control processing in transmitting and receiving signals to and from a central controller 11, which will be described later, a transmission waveform buffer memory 42 that has a relatively large capacity and that stores audio signal data and the like, It is configured to include a D / A converter 44 and the like for converting a digital signal into an analog signal.

The arithmetic unit 40 includes a CPU 48, an R
It is configured to include an OM 50, a RAM 52, an input / output controller (hereinafter referred to as I / O) 46, etc., and a CPU 48, a ROM 50, a RAM 52 and an I / O.
46 are connected to each other by a bus 54. I / O
The network interface 38, the transmission waveform buffer memory 42, the D / A converter 44, and the filter amplifier 34 are connected to 46. The D / A converter 44 is also connected to the filter amplifier 34, and the filter amplifier 34 is connected to the speaker 36. In addition,
The ROM 16 previously stores a control program and the like described later.

Further, the central control unit 11 has a control unit 12
A display 17 as a display device, and a keyboard 19 as an input means for inputting data, commands, etc.
And an A / D converter 24 and the like.
Of these, the control device 12 includes a CPU 14 and a ROM 16
, RAM 18, I / O 20 and the like, and these CPU 14, ROM 16, RAM 18, and I / O 20 are connected to each other by a bus 22.
The A / D converter 24, the display 17 and the keyboard 19 are connected to the I / O 20. I / O
Reference numeral 20 denotes a network interface 38 provided in the above speaker module 30 via a communication cable 26.
It is connected to the. A tape reproducing device 90 is connected to the I / O 20 via a filter amplifier 34.
The ROM 16 stores a control program, etc., which will be described later.

The operation of the first embodiment will be described below.
When an unillustrated start button provided in the central controller 11 is turned on by the operator, the control routine shown in FIG. 3 is executed by the CPU 14 of the central controller 11, and the control routine shown in FIG. 4 is executed by each of the plurality of speaker modules 30. It is executed by the CPU 48. Note that all of these control routines are repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals.

First, the control routine shown in FIG. 3 will be described. Each speaker module 30 in step 202
In order to check whether the function of is normal, a control signal is transmitted to each speaker module 30 and a timer for detecting a time-out is started. Next step 2
In 04, it is determined whether or not the response signals to the above control signals have been received from all the speaker modules 30.

When the response signals have not been received from all the speaker modules 30, the routine proceeds to step 206, where it is judged whether a predetermined time has passed from the transmission of the control signal at the above-mentioned step 202, based on the timing of the timer. .
If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to step 204,
When the predetermined time has elapsed, that is, when the time-out has occurred, the process proceeds to step 208, an alarm sound is emitted to notify that any one of the speaker modules 30 is out of order, and the control routine ends. Upon hearing this alarm sound, the operator investigates the faulty part of the speaker module 30 and takes repairs.

When the response signals have been received from all the speaker modules 30, the routine proceeds to step 210, where the positional information indicating the position and size of the sound collecting range 100 fixedly fixed in advance is fetched from the ROM 16. As this position information, as an example, as shown in FIG.
It is possible to use information indicating in which region among a large number of rectangular parallelepiped regions obtained by virtually equally dividing each direction, the arrow Y direction, and the arrow Z direction. Note that FIG. 13 shows an example in which the room 84 is divided into 16 equal parts in each direction. As shown in FIG. 5, the position and size of the sound collection range 100 are fixedly determined so as to include, for example, the head 102A of the listener 102 standing in front of the display fixedly arranged in the room 84. Has been. In the next step 212, for each speaker 36, the phase difference and amplitude of the audio signal corresponding to the sound to be emitted from the speaker 36 are determined based on the position information regarding each speaker 36 read from the ROM 16 and the position information of the sound collection range 100. To calculate.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the synthesized sound wave 104 having the wavefront of the envelope surface of the sound wave emitted from each of the plurality of omnidirectional speakers 36 has a predetermined sound collection range 10.
The phases of the audio signals supplied to the speaker modules 30 are shifted from each other so that they converge to zero. Further, the amplitude of the audio signal supplied to each speaker module 30 is determined so that the sound pressure of the sound emitted from each of the plurality of speakers 36 is below the audible level. Furthermore, the installation position of the plurality of speakers 36 is the sound collection range 10.
Regarding a speaker module 30 including a speaker relatively close to 0 (a speaker whose distance from the sound collection range 100 is shorter than a predetermined distance), the amplitude of the audio signal data supplied is the amplitude of the audio signal supplied to another speaker module. It is set to be larger than.

Further, since the size of the range of convergence of the synthetic sound wave 104 depends on the wavelength of the sound wave, the sound component having a relatively high frequency is excessively converged in a specific range within the sound collection range 100, and the sound is heard. It can be difficult. In such a case, it is preferable to shift the phases of the audio signals supplied to the speaker modules 30 from each other so that a slight disturbance occurs in the wavefront of the synthetic sound wave 104. This allows
Since the relatively high frequency sound component transmitted by the synthetic sound wave 104 is prevented from being excessively converged and is substantially equalized, the effect that the relatively high frequency sound is easily heard in the sound collection range 100 is obtained. To be

At the next step 214, an instruction signal for instructing the phase difference and the amplitude of the speaker 36 is transmitted to each speaker 36. In the next step 216, a predetermined data amount (speaker module 30
(Smaller than the storage capacity of the transmission waveform buffer memory 42) is set as one unit, and transmission of audio signal data to each speaker module 30 is started. Thereafter, the audio signal data is intermittently transmitted to each speaker module 30 with the predetermined data amount as one unit. In the next step 218, the timing signal as the reference timing is transmitted to each speaker module 30, and the process proceeds to step 220. In step 220, it is determined whether the audio signal data started to be transmitted in step 216 is completely transmitted.
Here, the transmission of the voice signal data is repeated until it is determined that all the data has been transmitted. When all the data has been transmitted, an affirmative determination is made and the control routine ends.

Next, each speaker module 3 shown in FIG.
A control routine executed by the 0 CPU 48 will be described. Transmit waveform buffer memory 4 in step 300
Initialization processing such as clearing 2 is performed, and the next step 302
Then, it is determined whether or not the predetermined control signal transmitted from the central control device 11 side is received in step 202.
If the predetermined control signal has not been received, the control routine ends, and if the predetermined control signal has been received, step 30
4, the response signal is transmitted to the central controller 11.

In the next step 306, the above step 2 is performed.
At 14, the CPU waits for reception of an instruction signal regarding the phase difference and the amplitude of the audio signal corresponding to the sound to be emitted from the speaker module 30 transmitted from the central controller 11 side.
When the above instruction signal is received, the process proceeds to step 308,
The instruction signal is read, and the gain of the filter amplifier 34 is set according to the instructed amplitude. In the next step 310, the reception of the voice signal data started to be transmitted from the central controller 11 side in step 216 is waited for. When the above audio signal data is received, the process proceeds to step 312, and the storage of the received audio signal data in the transmission waveform buffer memory 42 is started.

When the voice signal data is stored in the transmission waveform buffer memory 42, the transmission waveform buffer memory 4
2 is used as a ring buffer. That is, when the voice signal data is stored up to the final address of the transmission waveform buffer memory 42, the following voice signal data is stored in order from the head address of the transmission waveform buffer memory 42.
It should be noted that, in parallel with the storage of the audio signal data in the transmission waveform buffer memory 42, the audio signal data is output from the transmission waveform buffer memory 42 to the D / A converter 44 as will be described later. The audio signal data not output to the A converter 44 will not be overwritten on the audio signal data received after the audio signal data.

At the next step 314, the above step 2 is performed.
At 18, the system waits for the timing signal transmitted from the central controller 11 side. When the above timing signal is received, the process proceeds to step 316, and after the timer corresponding to the instructed phase difference is started, whether or not it becomes the audio signal data output timing corresponding to the instructed phase difference in step 318, The determination is repeated based on whether the timer has timed out. When the timer times out and the audio signal data output timing is reached, the routine proceeds to step 320, where a predetermined amount of audio signal data is read from the transmission waveform buffer memory 42 and output to the D / A converter 44. The audio signal data output to the D / A converter 44 is converted into an analog audio signal by the D / A converter 44, amplified by a gain corresponding to the amplitude instructed by the filter amplifier 34, and then supplied to the speaker 36. It

In the next step 322, it is determined whether or not there is voice signal data that has not been output to the transmission waveform buffer memory 42. If there is voice signal data in the transmission waveform buffer memory 42, the process returns to step 320 and D The audio signal data is output to the / A converter 44. When there is no audio signal data that has not been output to the transmission waveform buffer memory 42, a negative determination is made in step 322, and the control routine ends.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the synthetic sound wave 104 having the wavefront of the envelope surface of the sound wave emitted from each of the plurality of omnidirectional speakers 36 has a predetermined sound collection range 1
00 and the sound pressure of the sound emitted from each of the plurality of speakers 36 becomes equal to or lower than the audible level.
The sound emitted from 6 is not heard outside the sound collection range 100, and the sound collection range 1 where the above-mentioned synthetic sound wave 104 converges.
Only within 00, the sound emitted from the speaker 36 is heard by the synthetic sound wave 104 at a sound pressure higher than the audible level. Therefore, the sound is transmitted only within the desired sound collection range 100.

Further, among the plurality of speakers 36, the speaker whose installation position is relatively close to the sound collecting range 100 (the speaker whose distance from the sound collecting range 100 is shorter than a predetermined distance).
With regard to the speaker module 30 provided with, the amplitude of the audio signal data to be supplied is set to be larger than the amplitude of the audio signal to be supplied to the other speaker modules. Only the volume of can be efficiently increased.

Prior to transmitting the voice signal data to each speaker module 30, the control signal is transmitted from the central control unit 11 side to each speaker module 30 and whether the response signal is returned within a predetermined time or not. Since the function check is performed by checking whether or not each speaker module 30 is normal, it is possible to detect any abnormality in any of the plurality of speaker modules 30 at an early stage, and investigate or repair the abnormal point at an early stage. Can perform work, etc.

When the sound quality of the sound collected in the sound collection range 100 is not so high, it is arranged at a position far from the sound collection range 100 among the plurality of speakers 36 and the distance of the sound is attenuated. The speaker 36 that has hardly contributed to the sound collection to the sound collection range 100 due to
It may be excluded from the target of the arithmetic processing of the phase difference and the amplitude of the audio signal for No. 6. Thereby, the central controller 11
It is possible to reduce the load of the above arithmetic processing by the CPU 14.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, the sound transmission device 10 according to the second embodiment includes a plurality of (n, as an example, (8 × 8 +
4)) auxiliary speaker modules 60 are further provided, and each auxiliary speaker module 60 is configured to include the active control circuit 32, the filter amplifier 66, the directional speaker 68 and the like described in the first embodiment. There is. As shown in FIG. 7, the directional speakers 68 are arranged near the omnidirectional speakers 36 arranged on the ceiling 86 and on the floor near the sound collection range 100. The active control circuit 32 is connected to the I / O 20 via the communication cable 58.
And receives audio signal data corresponding to the sound emitted from the speaker 68.

The operation of the second embodiment will be described below with respect to only the part different from that of the first embodiment.

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG.
Following the transmission of the timing signal to each speaker module 30 in step 218, in step 221, a timer corresponding to the audio signal output timing Ta to the auxiliary speaker module 60 is started. Audio signal output timing Ta to the auxiliary speaker module 60
Uses the above-mentioned timing signal for each speaker module 30.
Is the time from the transmission to the auxiliary speaker module 60 until the audio signal data is output, and the value of the audio signal output timing Ta is the sound wave emitted from the directional speaker 68 and each omnidirectional speaker 36. It is set in advance so that the synthetic sound wave by the emitted sound wave reaches the sound collection range 100 at the same time. In the next step 222, it is determined whether or not the above-mentioned audio signal output timing Ta has come.
The determination is repeated based on whether the timer has timed out. When the timer times out and the audio signal output timing Ta is reached, the routine proceeds to step 223, where a predetermined amount of audio signal data is read from the transmission waveform buffer memory 42 and output to the auxiliary speaker module 60. The audio signal data output to the auxiliary speaker module 60 is converted into an analog audio signal by a D / A converter (not shown) in the active control circuit 32, amplified by the filter amplifier 66 with a preset gain, and then the speaker 68. Is supplied to. The output of the audio signal data to the auxiliary speaker module 60 is performed in the next step 22.
This is repeated until it is determined in step 4 that the output of all the audio signal data is completed, and when the output of all the audio signal data is completed, an affirmative determination is made in step 224 and the control routine is ended.

In this way, the ceiling 86 and the sound collection range 100
By arranging the directional speakers 68 for the sound collection range 100 on the floor in the vicinity, and supplying a sound signal to these directional speakers 68 to generate a sound, each of the plurality of omnidirectional speakers 36 is Synthetic sound wave 104 of emitted sound
Even when the sound component of the relatively low frequency transmitted by is diverged to the outside of the sound collection range 100 and the sound in the low frequency band within the sound collection range 100 is insufficient, the sound emitted from the directional speaker 68 causes It is possible to obtain the effect that the sound (specifically, the sound in the low frequency band) heard in the sound collection range 100 is enriched, and the sound quality of the sound heard in the sound collection range 100 is improved.

When a relatively low frequency sound component transmitted by the synthetic sound wave 104 diverges outside the sound collection range 100, a relatively low frequency sound is heard outside the sound collection range 100. By controlling so as to remove or attenuate the component of the audio signal data supplied to each speaker module 30 which is equal to or lower than the predetermined frequency, it is possible to prevent the low frequency sound from being heard outside the sound collection range 100 as described above. It can be avoided.

Further, in the second embodiment, an example in which a plurality of directional speakers 68 are arranged both on the ceiling 86 and on the floor in the vicinity of the sound collecting range 100 has been shown, but it may be arranged only on one of them. good. Further, it is not always necessary to dispose a directional speaker in the vicinity of the sound collection range 100, and an omnidirectional speaker may be arranged.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of directional speakers 68 are arranged below the floor 88 provided with sound passage holes 88A at predetermined intervals so that sound is output toward the sound passage holes 88A. However, the sound may be emitted from the speaker 68 arranged under the floor near the sound collection range 100.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. It should be noted that the same parts as those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 10, in the sound transmission device 10 according to the third embodiment, the auxiliary speaker module 60 described in the second embodiment is omitted, and the temperature sensor 80 for detecting the temperature of the room 84. Is provided. The temperature sensor 80 is connected to the I / O 20.

Further, the ROM 16 preliminarily measures the acoustic environment information in the room 84, specifically, the wall surface 12 of the room 84.
0, 122, 124 (the surface on the back side of the paper in FIG. 13),
125 (front surface of the paper in FIG. 13) and floor surface 88
(Hereinafter, these four wall surfaces and floor surfaces are collectively referred to as "five reflective surfaces"), and the reflection coefficient and phase rotation characteristic of the sound wave are stored in advance. The phase rotation characteristic is a characteristic that represents a change in the phase of the sound wave (reflected sound wave) reflected by the reflection surface with respect to the sound wave (incident sound wave) incident on the reflection surface, and depends on the material and hardness of the reflection surface. . As an example, in a hard concrete wall, the phase of the reflected sound wave is rotated by 180 ° with respect to the incident sound wave.

The operation of the third embodiment will be described below with respect to only the part different from that of the first embodiment.

In the control routine shown in FIG. 11, in step 209, which is executed when an affirmative determination is made in step 204, the positional information indicating the position and size of the sound collection range 100 fixed in advance is fetched from the ROM 16. Further, in step 209, the reflection coefficient and the phase rotation characteristic of each of the reflecting surfaces are fetched from the ROM 16 and the temperature of the room 84 is fetched from the temperature sensor 80. In the next step 211, the sound velocity V in the room 84 is calculated from the temperature of the room 84. In step 211, for each speaker 36, the phase difference and the amplitude of the audio signal corresponding to the sound to be emitted from the speaker 36 when the influence of the reflected sound waves reflected by each of the five reflection surfaces is not considered, ROM
The calculation is performed on the basis of the position information of each of the plurality of speakers 36 and the position information of the sound collection range 100 acquired from 16.
Since this calculation is the same as the calculation in step 212 of the first and second embodiments, detailed description will be omitted. In the next step 213, an instruction signal for instructing the position and size of the sound collection range, the sound environment parameter (acoustic environment information and sound velocity V), and the phase difference / amplitude corresponding to the speaker 36 is sent to each speaker 36. Then, the process proceeds to step 216 already described.

On the other hand, the speaker module 30 shown in FIG.
In the initialization process of step 300 of the control routine shown in FIG. 2, in addition to clearing the transmission buffer memory 42, the flag F1 for storing that the timing signal has already been received is reset.

In step 310, step 216 is executed.
Then, it is determined whether or not the audio signal data started to be transmitted from the central controller 11 side is received. When the voice signal data is received, the process proceeds to step 330, and the memory address of the transmission waveform buffer memory 42 corresponding to the instructed phase difference, that is, the predetermined reference address AD0 of the transmission waveform buffer memory 42 is instructed. The received audio signal data is written in the address AD1 offset by the phase difference.

By the way, in the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, as reflected sound waves, a P1 wave reflected by the wall surface 120 and reaching the sound collecting range 100, and a P2 wave reflected by the wall surface 122 and reaching the sound collecting range 100. Wave, P3 wave reflected by wall surface 124 and reaching sound collection range 100, wall surface 1
P4 wave reflected by 25 and reaching the sound collection range 100,
And P reaching the sound collection range 100 by being reflected by the floor 88
Five reflected sound waves of five waves are assumed. The direct sound wave D is a sound wave emitted from the speaker 36 and directly reaching the sound collection range 100 (hereinafter referred to as a direct sound wave). In the next step 332, the delay time Tn of one reflected sound wave Pn (n is any one of 1 to 5 and the same applies hereafter) of the above five reflected sound waves is set to the length of the transmission path of the reflected sound wave Pn and the sound velocity V. Calculate based on.

In the next step 334, the sound collection range 100
The sound signal data representing the reflected sound wave Pn reaching the position is calculated based on the sound signal data stored in the transmission waveform buffer memory 42, the reflection coefficient of the reflecting surface that reflects the reflected sound wave Pn, and the phase rotation characteristic. In the next step 336, the audio signal data stored in the address AD2 which is offset from the address AD1 of the transmission waveform buffer memory 42 by the address corresponding to the delay time Tn is read out, and the operation is performed in step 334 from the read audio signal data. The audio signal data of the reflected sound wave Pn is subtracted, and the audio signal data obtained as a result is written in the memory address AD2. The processes of steps 332, 334, and 336 described above are repeated until it is determined in the next step 338 that all reflected sound waves are completed. As a result, FIG.
Audio signal data corresponding to each of the five reflected sound waves P1 to P5 shown in (B) to (F) is calculated, and FIG.
The sound signal data corresponding to each of the above five reflected sound waves is subtracted from the sound signal data corresponding to the direct sound wave D shown in FIG.
The sound signal data corresponding to the sound wave (sending waveform) to be emitted from is obtained and stored. An affirmative decision is made in step 338, and the operation returns to step 310.

When step 310 is denied, it is determined in step 352 whether the flag F1 is 1 or not. Since the initial flag F1 has been reset by the initialization processing of step 300, a negative determination is made, and the processing advances to step 354,
It is determined whether the timing signal is received.

If the timing signal has not been received yet, the process returns to step 310, and if the timing signal has been received, the flag F1 is set at step 356.
In the subsequent process, after the determination in step 352 is unconditionally affirmed), the process proceeds to step 358. Step 358
Then, the reference address AD0 of the transmission waveform buffer memory 42
The audio signal data of a predetermined data amount is sequentially read from and the read audio signal data is output to the D / A converter 44. As described above, since the actual audio signal data is stored after the address AD1 offset from the reference address AD0 by the address corresponding to the specified phase difference, the actual audio signal data is output from the omnidirectional speaker 36. Is output after the time corresponding to the specified phase difference (phase difference between the speaker modules 30) has elapsed after receiving the timing signal.

The audio signal data output to the D / A converter 44 is converted into an analog audio signal by the D / A converter 44, amplified by the gain corresponding to the amplitude instructed by the filter amplifier 34, and then the speaker 36. Is supplied to. As a result, the sound wave having the waveform shown in FIG.
The reflected sound waves of P1 to P5 that reached 0 are 100 in the sound collection range.
It is canceled by the direct sound wave D having the waveform shown in FIG. Therefore, in the sound collection range 100, the sound of the waveform shown in FIG.

At the next step 360, it is determined whether or not there is voice signal data that has not been output in the transmission waveform buffer memory 42. If there is audio signal data that has not been output yet, the process returns to step 310. Therefore, reception of audio signal data in steps 330 to 338,
The calculation and storage of the audio signal data in consideration of the influence of the reflected sound wave and the output of the audio signal data in step 358 are performed in parallel. Step 358 is repeatedly executed while there is unoutput voice signal data in the transmission waveform buffer memory 42. When all the audio signal data in the transmission waveform buffer memory 42 has been output, the determination in step 360 is denied and the control routine ends.

As is apparent from the above description, according to the third embodiment, even when a sound is collected in an acoustic environment such as a room surrounded by walls and ceilings, the sound is heard within the sound collection range. The sound quality of the sound can be improved.

Further, the calculation of the sound signals of the five reflected sound waves with respect to the direct sound waves from each speaker 36 is performed by the CPU 48 of each speaker module 30 side.
Since the load of the arithmetic processing is distributed, the arithmetic processing for all the speakers 36 is performed by the C on the central control unit 11 side.
The processing time can be shortened as compared with the case of using the PU 14. However, when the sound transmission device 10 is a small-scale device configuration in which the number of speakers 36 is small, the central processing unit 11 performs the above-described arithmetic processing for all the speakers 36.
A centralized processing mode performed by the CPU 14 on the side may be adopted.

When the sound quality of the sound collected in the sound collection range 100 is not so high, comparison is made from the sound collection range 100 of the plurality of speakers 36 in order to reduce the load of arithmetic processing. By omitting the calculation of the sound signal of the reflected sound wave of the speaker 36, which is arranged at a position far away from the target and has a small reflection coefficient of the reflection surface, the reflected sound wave corresponding to the emitted direct sound wave becomes a minute sound wave. Is also good.

In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the acoustic environment in the room 84 is constant, but the acoustic environment changes due to opening and closing of the curtain in the room 84, for example. Therefore, such a change in the acoustic environment may be detected and control may be performed according to the state of the acoustic environment at that time. In order to detect the state of the acoustic environment, as shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 as an example, the television camera 72 and the television camera 72 that photograph the states of the wall surfaces 120, 122, 124, 125 and the floor 88 of the room 84. It is conceivable to provide a plurality of photographing devices 70 including an image processing device 74 for performing digitization processing, noise cut processing, and the like on the image information photographed by.

The television camera 72 is arranged on the ceiling 86 so that the photographing direction is downward, and is connected to the I / O 20 via the image processing device 74. The current state of the five reflective surfaces is photographed by the plurality of television cameras 72, the current state of the acoustic environment such as whether the curtain is open or closed is determined from the captured information, and the determined current sound is determined. A sound environment parameter corresponding to the environmental condition and the room temperature detected by the temperature sensor 80 is set, and the output waveform corresponding to the transmission waveform as shown in FIG. 14G is set according to the flow of the processing described above based on the set sound environment parameter. The audio signal data to be calculated is calculated. As a result, the sound quality of the sound heard within the sound collection range can be improved regardless of the change in the state of the acoustic environment.

Fourth Embodiment Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. Sound transmission device 10 according to the fourth embodiment
Since the configuration is the same as that of FIG. 15 described above, the description thereof will be omitted, and hereinafter, the operation of the fourth embodiment will be described only on the part different from that of the third embodiment.

In the control routine shown in FIG. 17, when the determination at step 204 is affirmative, at step 230, the photographing information corresponding to the image including the listeners 102 and 103 shown in FIG. The flag F2 indicating that the timing signal has been transmitted from the photographing device 70 is reset.

In the next step 234, based on the photographing information fetched in the above step 230, the photographed image shows that the surface is mostly spherical and has many black portions. A region having a characteristic amount peculiar to the head is extracted as a region corresponding to the head 102A of the predetermined listener 102, and the three-dimensional coordinates are based on the position, size, etc. of the extracted region on the captured image. The position of the head 102A above is estimated, a region of a predetermined size including the head 102A is set as the sound collection range 100, and the region, that is, the position of the sound collection range 100 is calculated. The calculation of the position of the sound collection range in step 234 is performed in the next step 2
At 36, the sound collection range (sound collection ranges 100 and 101 in FIG. 19) corresponding to all the listeners existing in the room 84 is repeated until it is completed.

When the position calculation of the sound collection range corresponding to all the listeners is completed, the process proceeds to step 238, and the position information of all the calculated sound collection ranges and a predetermined data amount (transmission of the speaker module 30 Waveform buffer memory 4
Audio signal data (smaller than the storage capacity of 2) is transmitted to each speaker module 30.

At the next step 240, it is determined whether the flag F2 is 1 or not. The initial flag F2 is the above-mentioned step 230.
Since it is reset at step 242, it is denied, and the routine proceeds to step 242, where a timing signal is transmitted to each speaker module 30 and the flag F2 is set (thus, in the subsequent processing, the determination at step 240 is unconditionally affirmed). ). In the next step 244, it is determined whether or not all the audio signal data has been transmitted. If all the audio signal data have not been transmitted yet, step 246
After advancing to step 234 and fetching the latest photographing information from the photographing device 70, the processing returns to step 234, and the processing from step 234 onward is re-executed based on the latest photographing information fetched. When all the audio signal data have been transmitted, the control routine ends.

On the other hand, the speaker module 30 shown in FIG.
In step 307 of the control routine shown in FIG. 8 after transmitting the response signal in step 304, whether the audio signal data and the position information of all the sound collection ranges transmitted from the central controller 11 side in step 238 are received. Determine whether or not.

When the voice signal data and the position information of all the sound collection ranges are received, the process proceeds to step 326, and the amplitude and phase difference of the voice signal data corresponding to the predetermined sound collection range is calculated as the position of the sound collection range. The calculation is performed based on the information and the position information regarding the speaker 36 read from the ROM 50. At the next step 328, the amplitude value represented by the audio signal data is changed according to the amplitude calculated above, and only the phase difference calculated at step 326 is changed with respect to the predetermined reference address AD0 of the transmission waveform buffer memory 42. The audio signal data with the changed amplitude value is written in the offset address AD1, and the gain of the filter amplifier 34 is set according to the calculated amplitude.

At the next step 340, it is judged whether or not the above-mentioned steps 326 and 328 have been completed for all the sound collecting ranges. If it has not been completed yet, the process returns to step 326, and the processes of steps 326 and 328 described above are performed on the sound collection range for which the above process has not been completed. Return to step 307.

If the determination in step 307 is negative, the process proceeds to step 352, and the processes of steps 352 to 360 described in the third embodiment are performed.

As is clear from the above description, according to the fourth embodiment, the sound collection range is set at a position corresponding to the position of the listener, and the sound collection range corresponding to the change in the position of the listener is set. Since the position of the sound range is also moved, even if the listener moves in the room 84, it is possible to control so that only the listener can hear the sound.

Further, since a plurality of sound collection ranges can be set, it is possible to control so that a predetermined sound is heard only by each of a plurality of listeners without providing a plurality of sound transmission devices 10.

Note that the method of detecting the position of the listener to set the sound collection range is limited to the position detection of the listener based on the image information including the listener photographed by the television camera 72 as described above. However, the position of the listener is specified by, for example, providing a temperature distribution detection sensor 126 (see FIG. 20) capable of detecting the temperature distribution in the room and specifying the place where the body temperature of the listener is detected. May be detected. In addition, a non-touch card 128 (see FIG. 20) having a built-in transmitter for transmitting a radio wave of a predetermined frequency is attached to the chest or the like of a specific listener as a target for listening to voice, and the predetermined frequency transmitted from the transmitter is set. It is also possible to detect the position of the listener by receiving the radio wave and calculating the angle of arrival thereof.

Further, in the above embodiment, when a plurality of listeners exist in the room 84, the same sound is collected in the sound collection range corresponding to each listener.
Different sounds may be collected in each sound collection range. This is because the central control terminal 11 transmits audio signal data corresponding to each sound collection range to each speaker module 30, and each speaker module 30 side outputs a sound corresponding to each sound collection range in step 328 of the flowchart of FIG. This can be realized by writing the signal data in the transmission waveform buffer memory 42.

Furthermore, by applying the above-mentioned listener position detecting method, the listener's type (for example, nationality) is identified, and sound is collected in a sound collection range corresponding to the listener's type. The voice may be selected. For the type of listener, in the non-touch card 128 (see FIG. 20) described above, the frequency of the transmitted radio wave is changed according to the type of the listener (for example, if the listener is an American, frequency f1, If the listener is Chinese, the frequency can be identified based on the frequency of the received radio wave by performing the frequency f2 or the like. Then, by collecting announcements such as exhibit explanations in the language corresponding to the nationality of each listener within the sound collection range corresponding to each listener, the listeners explain the exhibit in the language corresponding to their nationality. The effect of being able to hear announcements such as is obtained.

[Fifth Embodiment] Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. Sound transmission device 10 according to the fifth embodiment
15 is the same as that of FIG. 15 described above, the description thereof will be omitted, and the operation of the fifth embodiment will be described below with reference to the fourth embodiment.
Only parts different from the embodiment will be described.

In the control routine shown in FIG. 21, after taking in the photographing information in step 230 and resetting the flag F2 indicating that the timing signal has been transmitted, in step 233, the photographing information fetched in step 230 described above. Based on the above, a region with a characteristic amount peculiar to a person's head, such as a spherical shape with many black surfaces and many of its surfaces covered by a photographed image, is determined by a predetermined listener. Extracted as a region corresponding to the head 102A of 102,
The position of the head 102A on the three-dimensional coordinates is calculated based on the position, size, etc. of the extracted region on the captured image.

In the next step 235, the positions of the left and right ears of the listener are estimated as follows based on the position of the listener's head. Explaining the listener 102 shown in FIG. 23, first, the body 102B located below the head 102A is recognized, and the chest width L2 is the shoulder width L1 in the body 102B.
Therefore, it is estimated that the listener 102 faces the arrow Q direction or the opposite direction. Next, based on the general feature that the ratio of hair on the surface of the head 102A is higher on the side where the face is not located than on the side where the face is located, the back side of the paper in FIG. 23 is the front side of the paper. Since the degree of black is higher than that of black, it is estimated that the listener 102 faces the arrow Q direction. As a result, the left ear of the listener 102 is positioned adjacent to the side of the head 102A facing the arrow R direction, and the right ear 114 is positioned near the side of the head 102A facing the direction opposite to the arrow R. I presume. In addition, as the positional information of these left and right ears,
The rectangular parallelepiped region obtained by equally dividing along the arrow X direction, the arrow Y direction, and the arrow Z direction shown in FIG. 23, which has already been described, is further divided into a predetermined number along each of the above directions. It is possible to use information indicating in which area of the small rectangular parallelepiped area (not shown) obtained as a result. In step 235, virtual spherical regions 112 and 114 circumscribing the four vertices of the regions where the left and right ears are located and including the regions are set as sound collection ranges, and position information of these sound collection ranges is set. As, the position information of the region where the ears are located corresponding to the sound collection range is set.

The above steps 234 and 235 are repeated until the next step 236 is completed for all listeners.

When the position setting of the sound collecting ranges corresponding to the left and right ears of all listeners is completed, the process proceeds to step 237, where the position information of the sound collecting ranges corresponding to the left and right ears of all listeners and the left and right ears are set. The audio signal data of a predetermined data amount for the ear is transmitted to each speaker module 30. As the sound signal data for each of the left and right ears, sound signal data corresponding to each of a sound recorded at a position on the left side and a sound recorded at a position on the right side of a sound emitted from a predetermined sound source is used. Supply.

At the next step 240, it is determined whether the flag F2 is 1 or not. The initial flag F2 is the above-mentioned step 230.
Since it is reset at step 242, it is denied, and the routine proceeds to step 242, where a timing signal is transmitted to each speaker module 30 and the flag F2 is set (thus, in the subsequent processing, the determination at step 240 is unconditionally affirmed). ). In the next step 244, it is determined whether or not all the audio signal data has been transmitted. If all the audio signal data have not been transmitted yet, step 246
Then, after the latest photographing information is fetched from the photographing device 70, the process returns to step 233, and the processing from step 233 is re-executed based on the fetched latest photographing information. When all the audio signal data have been transmitted, the control routine ends.

On the other hand, the speaker module 30 shown in FIG.
In step 309 of the control routine shown in FIG. 2 after transmitting the response signal in step 304, position information of the sound collection range corresponding to the left and right ears of the listener, which is transmitted from the central control device 11 side in step 237, And whether or not the audio signal data for each of the left and right ears has been received.

When the position information of the sound collection range and the sound signal data are received, the process proceeds to step 327, and the amplitude and phase difference of the sound signal data with respect to the sound collection range corresponding to one ear of a predetermined listener is determined. , Based on the position information of the sound collection range and the position information regarding the speaker 36 loaded from the ROM 50. In the next step 328, the received voice signal data is written into the memory address AD1 which is offset by the phase difference calculated in the above step 326 from the predetermined reference address AD0 of the transmission waveform buffer memory 42, and is calculated. The gain of the filter amplifier 34 is set according to the amplitude.

In the next step 339, it is determined whether or not the processing in steps 327 and 328 has been completed for the sound collection range corresponding to the left and right ears of the predetermined listener. If not completed, the process returns to step 327, and step 32 is performed for the sound collection range corresponding to the other ear of the predetermined listener.
7. Processes 328 are performed. When the sound collection range corresponding to each of the left and right ears has been completed, the process proceeds to step 340, and the processes of steps 327 and 328 are performed for all listeners (listeners 102 and 103 in the example shown in FIG. 23). Determine whether it is complete. If not completed for all listeners, the process returns to step 327, and the above steps 327 to 339 are performed for listeners for which the above processing has not been completed. If completed for all listeners, the process returns to step 309 to determine whether the latest position information of the sound collection range corresponding to the left and right ears of the listener and the next audio signal data for the left and right ears have been received. It is judged again.

When the latest position information of the sound collection range corresponding to the left and right ears of the listener and the next audio signal data for the left and right ears are received, the above steps 327 to 327 are performed based on the received data. The process of 340 is performed again.

If the determination in step 309 is negative, the process proceeds to step 352, and the processes of steps 352 to 360 described in the third embodiment are performed. Of these, in step 358, a predetermined amount of audio signal data is sequentially read from the reference address AD0 of the transmission waveform buffer memory 42 and output to the D / A converter 44.

The audio signal data output to the D / A converter 44 is converted into an analog audio signal by the D / A converter 44, amplified by the filter amplifier 34, and then supplied to the speaker 36.

As a result, the analog sound corresponding to the above-mentioned sound signal data is emitted from the speaker 36, and the sound emitted from the predetermined sound source is recorded at the left side of the sound source and corresponds to the left ear. In the sound collection range, the sounds recorded at the right position are collected in the sound collection range corresponding to the right ear. Therefore, the listener can feel a sense of stereo.

In the fifth embodiment, the position of each of the left and right ears of the listener is estimated from the detected position of the listener, and the left and right sounds of the stereophonic sounds of the left and right ears are estimated. However, by further applying this, the position and direction of the listener's ear are estimated from the detected position of the listener, based on the estimated position and direction of the listener's ear, By setting the sound collection range at a position that matches the hearing directivity of the listener, the listener can hear the voice more clearly.

Sixth Embodiment Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. It should be noted that the same parts as those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 26, a weight sensor 82 is provided under the floor immediately below the predetermined sound collection range 100, and this weight sensor 82 is added to the floor immediately below the sound collection range 100. Detect weight. As shown in FIG. 24, the weight sensor 82 is connected to the I / O 20.

The operation of the sixth embodiment will be described below with respect to only the part different from that of the first embodiment.

Step 20 of the control routine shown in FIG.
At 0, the detection result is taken in from the weight sensor 82 that detects the weight applied to the floor immediately below the sound collection range 100, and at the next step 201, it is determined whether or not the detection result of the weight is a predetermined weight or more. When this determination is affirmed, the listener 102 stands on the floor directly below the sound collection range 100, that is, the head 102A of the listener 102 is set in advance at a predetermined height above the floor. It can be determined that the position is within the range 100.

If the detected weight is less than the predetermined weight, it can be determined that the head 102A of the listener 102 is not located within the sound collection range 100, and the process is terminated. If the detected weight is greater than or equal to the predetermined weight, then step 2
Then, the process proceeds to 02, and the processes of step 202 and the subsequent steps already described in the first embodiment are performed.

Thus, the head 102A of the listener 102
Sound collection range 1 only if is located within sound collection range 100
Since it is possible to collect a sound at 00 and make the listener 102 hear the sound, for example, when the listener arrives in front of a predetermined exhibit, the collection of an announcement explaining the exhibit is started. By doing so, the listener can hear the above announcement from the beginning.

As an embodiment of the present invention having the same effect as that of the sixth embodiment, an embodiment in which a predetermined sound is collected in the sound collection range only when the listener performs a specific operation. Can be considered. For example, when a shopper lifts a specific product at a shopping center or the like, it is detected when the detection value of a weight sensor placed under the display shelf of the product becomes less than or equal to a predetermined value, and in that case, The announcement of the product description can be collected with the sound collection range in front of the display shelf of the product, and the shopper can hear the announcement. In addition, in FIG. 26, a push button 130 is arranged in front of an exhibit (not shown).
It is possible to collect the announcement of the explanation of the exhibit by using the sound collection range (around the disposition position of 30) as a sound collection range, and make the announcement heard by the visitor.

[Seventh Embodiment] Next, a seventh embodiment according to the present invention
An embodiment will be described. In the present seventh embodiment, in transmitting sound to an object, an image including the object is captured by a plurality of TV cameras equipped with wide-angle fixed focus lenses, the position of the object is recognized based on the image data, and the position of the object is recognized. An example of setting the sound collection range based on

As shown in FIG. 27, a plurality of TV cameras 72 (four as an example) are installed on the ceiling 86, and each TV camera 72 is equipped with a fisheye lens 72A as a wide-angle fixed focus lens. ing. This allows
Whether the object is moving or stationary, the object can be photographed without moving the television camera 72. Each TV camera 72 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the image data captured by the television camera 72 is connected to the I / O 20 built in the control device 12 via an image processing device 74 that performs predetermined image processing.

The fish-eye lens 72A may be, for example, equidistant projection.
injection type, three-dimensional projection type, equi-solid angle projection type, orthographic projection type, and any fish-eye lens can be used in the present embodiment, but the equidistant projection type fish-eye lens is used below. An example will be described. In addition, each TV camera 72 has a CCD (Charge-Coupled Decode).
vice) Area image sensor 72B is provided.

Since objects such as objects and people / animals have a substantially fixed height from the floor or the ground, and the fish-eye lens 72A as a wide-angle fixed-focus lens has a large depth of focus. Even if the television camera 72 does not have a focus adjustment mechanism, an object image can be clearly formed on the CCD area image sensor 72B. In this way, each of the plurality of television cameras 72 shoots a predetermined area including the object from different positions.

Next, the operation of the seventh embodiment will be described.
When the operator designates the target person A as an object and turns on a start button (not shown) provided in the central control unit 11, the control routine shown in FIG. The control routine shown in FIG. 4 is executed by the CPU 48 of each speaker module 30.

Hereinafter, description of the processing executed by each speaker module 30 will be omitted, and the audio signal supply processing executed by the central control unit 11 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The audio signal supply process shown in FIG. 29 is performed by the control routine of FIG. 3 in the first embodiment described above.
Instead of fetching the position information of the sound collection range in step 210, a subroutine of the sound collection range setting process (see FIG. 30) is executed in step 211.

First, the subroutine of this sound collection range setting process will be described. In step 250 shown in FIG. 30, object classification processing (see FIG. 31) is executed.

In step 280 of FIG. 31, the image data A when the object (target person A) does not exist in the room 84 is read from the ROM 16, and the next step 28
2. Image data B taken by each TV camera 72 in 2
Are fetched and stored in the RAM 18. In the next step 284, the target person A present in the room 84 is recognized by taking the difference between the image data B and the image data A.

Next, in step 286, a timer of a predetermined time T is set, and in the next step 288, the process waits for the predetermined time T, and when a time-out occurs, step 290
Go to.

In step 290, each television camera 72
The image data C captured in (i.e., the image data after a predetermined time T has elapsed from the image data B) is captured. Then, in the next step 292, the image data B stored in the RAM 18 is read, the image data B and the image data C are compared, and in the next step 294, whether or not the target person A has moved based on the comparison result. To judge.

If the target person A is not moving (still), a negative decision is made in step 294 and the process returns to the main routine of FIG. On the other hand, if the target person A is moving, an affirmative decision is made in step 294 and the operation proceeds to step 296, in which the direction of travel of the target person A is obtained from the difference between the image data B and the image data C (see FIG. 32). The front and back of the target person A are determined from the traveling direction. And
In the next step 298, the information regarding the traveling direction and the front and back of the target person A is stored in the RAM 18, and the process returns to the main routine of FIG.

At the next step 252, the position and height of the target person A are calculated. As shown in FIG. 33, the focal length of the equidistant projection type fisheye lens 72A fixed to the point O is f, and the point Q is set from the point O vertically to the floor surface 88 of the room 84.
To the point H, the distance from the point Q to the point P on the floor 88 of the target person A is R, and the height of the target person A (when the tip of the target person A in the ceiling direction is point P ′, The distance between P'and the point P) is h. Further, the angle formed by the point POQ is θ, and the point P ′ is
The angle formed by OQ is θ ′, and the CCD area image sensor 72
The distance corresponding to the height of the object image on the CCD surface of B is h ′, the point of the object image h ′ formed corresponding to the point P is p, and the point formed of the object image h ′ is the point P ′. If the point formed by the image formation is p ′, the distance from the image center of the CCD surface (center of the CCD surface) o to the point p is r, and the distance from the image center o of the CCD surface to the point p ′ is r ′, the angle is θ, θ ',
The distances r and r'can be calculated by the following equations (1) to (4).

Θ = tan ⁻¹ (R / H) (1) θ ′ = tan ⁻¹ {R / (H−h)} (2) r = fθ .. (3) r '= f?' (4) Therefore, the height h and the distance R can be obtained by the following equations (5) and (6).

H = H {1-tan (r / f) / tan (r ′ / f)} (5) R = Htan (r / f) (6) Note that the distance H And the focal length f are predetermined, and the equations (5) and (6) are stored in the ROM 16. Therefore, in this step 252, the equation (5) is stored in the ROM 1
6, the height h is calculated from the information on the CCD surface of one TV camera 72, the equation (6) is read, and the distance R is obtained from the information on the CCD surface of the two TV cameras 72, respectively. The two-dimensional position of the target person A is calculated from the obtained two distances R.

In the next step 254, the above step 2
A three-dimensional space around the position calculated in 52 in the X direction,
A matrix-shaped minute space (hereinafter referred to as a voxel) that is virtually subdivided along the Y direction and the Z direction is set.
As a result, the image data C is converted into a set of voxels. FIG. 34 conceptually shows voxels occupied by the target person A when the target person A is projected from the four television cameras A, B, C, and D.

That is, the voxels positioned within the viewing angle of the target person A when the target person A is projected from each television camera include the shadow (blind spot) portions R _A , R _B , R _C , and R _D. Are set as voxels occupied by the target person A.
The voxel is the CCD area image sensor 72B.
It is possible to subdivide to the resolution limit of.

In the next step 256, the voxels occupied by the target person A in the image data are subjected to the primary narrowing-down based on the height h of the target person A as follows.

The height h of the target person A can be set in advance from the average height of an adult, so that FIG.
As shown in (D), when the target person A is projected from each TV camera, among the voxels positioned within the viewing angle of the target person A, those having a height range of 0 to h are Filter as occupied voxels. The region formed by the voxels narrowed down here is referred to as a primary narrowed region.

Next, at step 258, the secondary narrowing-down is performed from the primary narrowing-down area in each image data to the area overlapping all of them. As a result, FIG.
Region R _A shadow shown in _{4, R B, R C,} R D is eliminated from the voxel target person A is occupied, as shown in FIG. 36, it is narrowed to a voxel 132 occupied by the target person A. In the next step 260, the voxel 132 accurately recognizes the position and shape of the object.
Since the voxels can be subdivided to the resolution limit of the CCD area image sensor 72B, the shape of the object can be recognized in detail.

At the next step 262, as shown in FIG. 37, dimensions such as the height and thickness of the voxel 132 and the R are previously set.
Information about human characteristics such as the color difference of the head stored in the OM16, the positions of the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, the length and position of the arm, the orientation of the toes, the degrees of freedom of joints, and the target person A is moved. If it is, the dummy model 134 is stored based on the information about the traveling direction and the front and back of the target person A stored in the RAM 18.
Convert to.

In the next step 264, a predetermined number (two as an example) of TV cameras whose heads of the target person A are to be photographed are selected, and the CCD of each selected TV camera is selected.
Two-dimensional coordinates corresponding to the position of the head of the target person A on the surface are captured. In selecting the television camera, for example, the object image when the target person A is photographed may be selected in descending order, or the television camera that captures the front of the target person A may be selected. Also, the selected 2
The two TV cameras are referred to as camera L and camera R, respectively.

At the next step 266, three-dimensional coordinates are calculated. As shown in FIG. 38, the three-dimensional coordinate C of the camera L is (X, 0, Z) and the three-dimensional coordinate C ′ of the camera R is (X ′,
0, Z). Further, the coordinate P _L on the CCD surface of the camera L corresponding to the position of the head of the target person A is (α ₁ ,
β ₁ ), coordinates P from the image center O _{L on} the CCD surface of the camera L
The distance to _L is r, and the coordinate P _R on the CCD surface of the camera R corresponding to the position of the head of the target person A is (α ₁ ',
beta ₁ '), the distance from the image center O _R of the CCD of the camera R to the coordinates P _R r', that is two light intersect when virtual light emitted from the coordinate P _L and coordinates P _R, i.e. , The three-dimensional coordinate P of the head of the target person A is (x, y, z).

Further, the coordinates of the intersection S of the perpendicular leg drawn parallel to the Z-axis from the three-dimensional coordinate position of the camera L and the plane including the point P and perpendicular to the Z-axis are (X, 0, z). And the coordinates of the intersection S'of the perpendicular leg dropped from the three-dimensional coordinate position of the camera R parallel to the Z axis and the plane including the point P and perpendicular to the Z axis are (X ', 0, z). To do. Further, the angle formed by the point PCS is θ ₁ , the angle formed by the point PC ′S ′ is θ ₁ ′, the angle formed by the point PSS ′ is φ, and the angle formed by the point PS ′S is φ ′.

The distance r from the image center O _L to the image on the CCD surface is obtained by the above equation (3) as r = fθ ₁ .

[0191] In addition, each α _1, β _{1 is, α 1 = fθ 1 cos (} π-φ) = - fθ 1 cosφ β 1 = fθ 1 sin (π-φ) = fθ 1 sinφ ··· (7) Is. Here, sin φ = y / {(x−X) ² + y ² } ^1/2 (8) cos φ = (x−X) / {(x−X) ² + y ² } ^1/2 , Α ₁ and β ₁ are α ₁ = −fθ ₁ (x−X) / {(x−X) ² + y ² } ^1/2 ... (9) β ₁ = fθ ₁ y / {(x -X) ² + y ² } ^1/2 ... (10) By dividing Expression (10) by Expression (9), y = (β ₁ / α ₁ ) (X−x) (11) Similarly, y = (β ₁ ′ / α ₁ ′) (X '−x) (12) Eliminating y from equation (11) and equation (12), x = (α ₁ β ₁ 'X'-α ₁ 'β ₁ X) / (α ₁ β _{1 '-α 1' β 1)} by (13) can be determined X-coordinate of the three-dimensional coordinates P.

Then, x is eliminated from the equations (11) and (13), and y = β ₁ β ₁ ′ (X−X ′) / (α ₁ β ₁ ′ −α ₁ ′ β ₁ ). The Y coordinate of the three-dimensional coordinate P can be calculated by (14).

By the way, θ ₁ = tan ^-1 [{(x-X) ² + y ² } ^1/2 / (Z-
z)], therefore, β ₁ / (fsin φ) = tan ⁻¹ [{(x−X) ² + y from Equation (7) and Equation (8).
^{2} 1/2 / (Z-z} )] Thus, z = Z - [{( x-X) 2 + y 2} 1/2 / tan [(β 1 / f) × {(x-X) 2 + y ² } ^1/2 / y] (15) Further, from the formula (11), {(x−X) ² + y ² } ^1/2 = (x−X) × {1+ (β
₁ / α ₁ ) ² } ^{1/2 From} formula (11) and formula (14), (x−X) = (X′−X) / {1− (α ₁ ′ / α ₁ ) ×
Since (β ₁ / β ₁ ′)}, the equation (15) is expressed by z = Z + [(X′−X) × {1+ (β ₁ / α ₁ ) ² } ^1/2 / {1- (α ₁ '/ α ₁ ) × (β ₁ / β ₁ ')}] / tan {(α ₁ ² + β ₁ ² ) ^1/2 / f} (16), which can be expressed as the three-dimensional coordinate P The Z coordinate of can be obtained.

Since the three-dimensional coordinates of each TV camera 16 are predetermined, the ROM is determined in step 266.
Equations (13), (14), and (16) are read from 16 and
The values of the coordinates P _L (α ₁ , β ₁ ) on the CCD surface of the camera L and the coordinates P _R (α ₁ ', β ₁ ') on the CCD surface of the camera R captured in step 264 are given by equation (13). , (1
By substituting into 4) and (16), the three-dimensional coordinates P (x, y, z) of the head of the target person A can be obtained.

At the next step 268, the orientation of the head of the target person A is estimated in the same manner as the processing at step 235 of FIG. 21 in the fifth embodiment described above. And
In the next step 270, a position separated by a predetermined distance (for example, about 30 cm) in front of the target person A from the position of the head (three-dimensional coordinate) obtained in step 266 is set as the sound collection range for the target person A. And then return.
In this step 270, an area range of a predetermined size including the head of the target person A may be set as the sound collection range other than the above example.

As described above, according to the seventh embodiment, since the wide-angle fixed focus lens 72A is used for photographing, it is not necessary to move the television camera 72 or perform focus adjustment.
Therefore, it is possible to shorten the time until the object (target person A) is captured, and it is possible to quickly recognize the position of the object.

Further, since the mechanism for changing the direction of the television camera and adjusting the focus is unnecessary, the work for capturing the object can be automated and the driving part is eliminated, so that the durability of the television camera can be improved. The reliability can be increased.

Further, since one object is photographed by a plurality of television cameras, three-dimensional coordinates can be calculated even if there are obstacles such as furniture that obstruct the visual field and other objects. it can.

Further, since the television camera is arranged on the ceiling of the room forming the three-dimensional space, the wall surface can be effectively used. Although the plurality of TV cameras 72 are arranged on the ceiling 86 in the seventh embodiment, they may be arranged near the wall or embedded in the wall as shown in FIGS. 39 (A) to (F). Well, 2 composed of ceiling and wall
It may be arranged at a corner portion of the surface or at a corner portion of three surfaces composed of a ceiling and two walls. Furthermore, (M) to FIG.
As shown in (O), the equidistant projection type fisheye lens 72A may be directed to the center of the room.

Further, in the seventh embodiment, in step 280 in the object classification processing shown in FIG. 31, the image data A when the object does not exist in the room 84 is displayed.
However, the image data B and the image data B captured by the TV camera 72 are skipped without performing step 280.
The object may be recognized based on the image data C after the lapse of a predetermined time T from.

In addition, in the seventh embodiment, an image including an object is photographed by using two television cameras.
More than one TV camera may be used.

Further, although the equidistant projection type fisheye lens is used in the seventh embodiment, the same effect can be obtained by using the equisolid angle projection type fisheye lens, the stereoscopic projection type fisheye lens or the orthographic projection type fisheye lens as described above. Then, the three-dimensional coordinates of the head of the target person A can be calculated. The following equations (1) ′ to (6) ′ are equations corresponding to the equations (1) to (6) when the equisolid angle projection type fisheye lens is used.

Θ = tan ⁻¹ (R / H) (1) ′ θ ′ = tan ⁻¹ {R / (H−h)} (2) ′ r = 2f sin ( θ / 2) (3) 'r' = 2 fsin (θ '/ 2) ... (4)' h = H [1-tan {2 sin ^-1 (r / 2f)} / tan {2sin ⁻¹ (r ′ / 2f)}] (5) ′ R = Htan {2sin ⁻¹ (r / 2f)} (6) ′ [Eighth embodiment] Next, an eighth embodiment according to the invention will be described. In the eighth embodiment, when transmitting sound to an object, the position of the object is recognized based on the image data including the object obtained by using one TV camera and one mirror, and the position of the object is recognized. An example in which the sound collection range is set according to the above is shown.

As shown in FIG. 40, each television camera 72
One side of the CCD area image sensor 72B is
A vertically long mirror 136 is fixed to the ceiling 86 in the vertical direction (Z direction) in parallel with the direction of the end surface (X direction).

Next, various amounts such as the position, distance and angle of the equidistant projection type fisheye lens 72A, the CCD area image sensor 72B and the mirror 136 of the eighth embodiment are shown in FIGS.
Will be described with reference to. Note that FIG. 41 shows the details of the above-mentioned amounts when the distance between the equidistant projection type fisheye lens 72A and the CCD area image sensor 72B is neglected as being small.

As shown in FIG. 40, the center of the upper end of the mirror 136 on the same XY plane as the CCD surface of the CCD area image sensor 72B is located at the origin O (0,0,0,0) of the three-dimensional coordinate.
Take 0). The image center H of the CCD surface is separated from the origin O in the Y direction by a distance h, and the three-dimensional coordinate of the image center H is set to (0, h, 0). In addition, the three-dimensional coordinates of a predetermined part (for example, head) P of the target person A are (x, y, z),
The light emitted from the point P is refracted by the equidistant projection type fisheye lens 72A and forms an image on the point D on the CCD surface. The two-dimensional coordinates of the point D on the CCD surface are (α _D , β _D ). Further, the light emitted from the point P and reflected by the mirror 136 is refracted by the equidistant projection type fisheye lens 72A and forms an image at the point R on the CCD surface. The two-dimensional coordinate of the point R on this CCD surface is (α _R ,
β _R ). Assuming a virtual TV camera 73 without the mirror 136, the light emitted from the point P when the three-dimensional coordinates of the image center H ′ on the CCD surface is (0, −h, 0). It is assumed that the light is refracted by the virtual equidistant projection type fisheye lens 73A to form an image at a point R'on the CCD surface of the virtual CCD area image sensor 73B. The above-mentioned point R and the virtual point R'are relative to the mirror 136. Be symmetrical. Further, the distance from the image center H on the CCD surface to the point D is r _D , and the distance from the image center H on the CCD surface to the point R is r
_{Let R.}

As shown in FIG. 41, an arbitrary point on the perpendicular line drawn from the point H in the Z direction is a point V, and an arbitrary point on the perpendicular line drawn from the point H'in the Z direction is a point V. The angle formed by the point PHV is the angle θ _D , and the angle formed by the point PH'V 'is the angle θ _R' . Also, three-dimensional coordinates (x, y, 0) point S to the point represented by the distance the distance B _R between points S and H, 'distance the distance B _R of _the' points S and H, the point The distance between P and the point H is defined as a distance A _D , and the distance between the point P and a point H ′ is defined as a distance A _{R ′} .

Next, the operation of the eighth embodiment will be described. Since the eighth embodiment is substantially the same as the seventh embodiment and the control routines of FIGS. 29 to 31 are also the same, only the processing relating to the position calculation of the target person A different from the seventh embodiment will be described below. explain.

In step 264 in the sound collection range setting process shown in FIG. 30, one TV camera 72 for photographing the target person A is selected (for example, the TV camera with the smallest distance r _D is selected), and the target person A is selected. A point D (α _D , β _D ) and a point R (α on the CCD surface corresponding to the position of the head of the person A.
Each two-dimensional coordinate value of _R , β _R ) is taken in.

At the next step 266, the three-dimensional coordinates of the head of the target person A are calculated. Here, the various quantities described above will be further described with reference to FIGS.

[0211] angle theta _D and theta _{R 'are ^{each, θ D = tan -1 (B}} D / Q) = tan -1 [{(y-h) 2 + x 2} 1/2 / z] θ R' = tan ⁻¹ (BR _′ / Q) = tan ⁻¹ [{(y + h) ² + x ² } ^1/2 / z], the distances r _D and r _R can be calculated from the above equation (3) as follows. It is represented by a formula.

R _D = f · tan ^-1 [{(y-h) ² + x ² } ^1/2 / z] r _R = f · tan ^-1 [{(y + h) ² + x ² } ^1/2 / z _{Incidentally, α D = r D cos (} π-φ D) = - r D cosφ D ··· (17) β D = r D sin (π-φ D) = r D sinφ D ··· (18) α _R = r _R cos φ _{R '} (∵ φ _R' = φ _R ) ・ ・ ・ (19) β _R = r _R sin φ _{R '} (∵ φ _{R '} = φ _R ) ・ ・ ・ (20) Also, cos φ _D = (Y−h) / {(y−h) ² + x ² } ^1/2 ... (21) sin φ _D = x / {(y−h) ² + x ² } ^1/2 ... (22) cos φ _{R '} = (y + h) / {(y + h) ² + x ² } ^1/2 ... (23) sin φ _R' = x / {(y + h) ² + x ² } ^1/2 ... (24) Therefore, equation (17) and equation (21) and equation (1
8) and equation (22), α _D = −fθ _D (y−h) / {(y−h) ² + x ² } ^1/2 ... (25) β _D = fθ _D x / {(y -H) ² + x ² } ^1/2 ... (26) Eliminating fθ _D from these two equations, y = h− (α _D / β _D ) x (27) Similarly, α _R = fθ _{R ′} (y + h) / {(y + h) ² + x ² } _{^{1/2 ··· (28) β R =}} fθ R 'x / {(y + h) 2 + x 2} 1/2 ··· (29) y = -h + (α R / β R) x ··· ( 30) (27) and (can be obtained X coordinate of from _{30) x = 2hβ D β R} / (α D β R + α R β D) 3 -dimensional coordinate P by ... (31).

Next, by substituting the equation (31) into the equation (27), y = h (α _R β _D −α _D β _R ) / (α _D β _R + α _R β _D ) ... (32 ), The Y coordinate of the three-dimensional coordinate P can be obtained.

Further, β _D = r _D sinφ _D = fθ _D sinφ _D = f · tan ⁻¹ [{(y−h) ² + x ² } ^1/2 / z] ·
sin φ _D By modifying this formula, z = {(y−h) ² + x ² } ^1/2 / tan (β _D / fs
inφ _D ) = {(y−h) ² + x ² } ^1/2 / tan [(β _D / f)
× {(y−h) ² + x ² } ^1/2 / x] From the equations (31) and (32), {(y−h) ² + x ² } ^1/2 = 2hβ _R (α _D ² + Β _D
² ) ^1/2 / (α _D β _R + α _R β _D ), so z = 2hβ _R (α _D ² + β _D ² ) ^1/2 / [(α _D β _R + α _R β _D ) × tan { (Α _D ² + β _D ² ) ^1/2 / f}] (33), the Z coordinate of the three-dimensional coordinate P can be obtained.

The distance h from the mirror 136 to the image center H on the CCD surface is predetermined. Therefore, in step 266, the equations (31), (32),
(33) is read and the CC fetched in step 264
By substituting the two-dimensional coordinate values of each of the points D (α _D , β _D ) and the points R (α _R , β _R ) on the D surface, the three-dimensional coordinates P (x, y, z) is calculated.

As described above, according to the eighth embodiment, the three-dimensional coordinates of the head of the target person A can be calculated by one TV camera, so that the number of TV cameras installed on the ceiling 86 can be reduced. can do.

In the eighth embodiment, one TV camera and one mirror installed on the ceiling 86 are used to calculate the three-dimensional coordinates of the object, but FIGS. As shown in (L), a mirror may be attached to the wall surface, or one TV camera and a plurality of mirrors may be used. Also, curved mirrors may be used.
When multiple mirrors are used, more object images are formed on the CCD surface, so even if a blind spot occurs due to another object (such as furniture or a pillar), the three-dimensional coordinates are calculated as described above. can do.

[Ninth Embodiment] Next, a ninth embodiment according to the present invention
An embodiment will be described. The ninth embodiment shows an example in which the shape of an object is recognized without setting voxels when extracting the sound of the object.

The control device 12 in the ninth embodiment is
The distorted image data including the object image is converted into flattened image data, and at least the front, back, left side, right side, and flat image data of the object image are obtained based on the converted image data, and the obtained It has a function of recognizing an object by synthesizing the image data. In the ninth embodiment, in order to simplify the description, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the target person A is the TV cameras A, B,
Assume the case of capturing in C and D.

Next, the operation of the ninth embodiment will be described. In step 251 in the process of setting the sound collection range shown in FIG. 42, the image data captured by the television cameras A, B, C and D is captured. The image of the image data captured in step 251 is distorted as shown in FIGS. 44 (A) to (D). In the next step 253, the image data of these distorted images is converted into the image data shown in FIG.
It is converted into flattened image data as shown in (A) to (D).

At the next step 255, the image data of the front, back, left side, right side and plane of the target person A is obtained from the flattened image data. 46A to 46C show image data of the front face, right side face, and plane of the target person A obtained in step 255, respectively. In the next step 257, the image data of the front surface, the back surface, the left side surface, the right side surface and the plane surface obtained in step 255 are combined.
Thereby, the shape of the object can be recognized.

In subsequent steps 264 to 270, the position calculation and the orientation estimation of the head of the target person A are performed based on the combined image data of the target person A, in the same manner as in the seventh embodiment. Set the sound range.

As described above, according to the ninth embodiment, the shape of the object can be recognized without setting voxels.

Although the TV camera 72 of the seventh to ninth embodiments is a visible light TV camera, it may be taken in a wavelength range other than visible light such as an infrared camera. Good. With this configuration, the object can be photographed even when the illumination lamp is not turned on, and thus the object can be used as a crime prevention device or a monitoring device.

In addition, in the seventh to ninth embodiments, the first
By applying the television camera 72 including the fisheye lens 72A as a wide-angle fixed focus lens and the CCD area image sensor 72B to the sound transmission device 10 of the embodiment, the position and shape of the object can be efficiently (quickly).
Although the example of obtaining is shown, in the sound transmission device 10 of the second to sixth embodiments, the fisheye lens 7 as the wide-angle fixed focus lens is used.
The same effect can be obtained by applying the television camera 72 including the 2A and the CCD area image sensor 72B.

As is clear from the above description, the present invention includes the following technical aspects.

The sound transmission device according to any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein the photographing means is arranged on a ceiling of a room forming a three-dimensional space.

18. The photographing device according to claim 12, wherein the photographing means photographs in a wavelength range other than visible light.
The sound transmission device according to item.

The shape recognition means converts the distorted image information including the object image into flattened image information,
The image information of at least the front surface, the back surface, the left side surface, the right side surface, and the plane of the object image is obtained based on the converted image information, and the obtained image information is combined to recognize the object. 16. The sound transmission device according to any one of 15 to 15.

Height, thickness, head, arms, hands, which are characteristics of a person,
The shape recognition unit further includes a storage unit that stores in advance at least one of feature information as information about the foot, face, eyes, nose, mouth, ear, toes, and joints, and the shape recognition unit stores the feature information stored in the storage unit. 14. The object is recognized as a person based on the characteristic information and the image information photographed by the photographing means.
16. The sound transmission device according to any one of 15 to 15.

[0231]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, each of the plurality of speakers is so arranged that the synthetic sound wave having the wavefront of the envelope of the wavefront of the sound wave emitted from each of the plurality of speakers converges in the sound collection range. The phase of the audio signal to be supplied to is set to be offset from each other, and the amplitude of the audio signal is set so that the sound pressure of the sound emitted from each of the multiple speakers is at a level at which it is difficult to accurately grasp the content. Since the control means for supplying the audio signal whose phase and amplitude are set as described above to each of the plurality of speakers is provided, the effect that the audio can be transmitted only within the sound collection range is obtained. .

According to the invention as set forth in claim 2 or 18, the sound emitted from the speaker is not heard outside the sound collection range, and only the volume of the sound heard within the sound collection range is efficiently used. It is possible to obtain a large effect.

According to the invention as set forth in claim 3 or 19, the sound component of a relatively low frequency transmitted by the synthetic sound wave diverges outside the sound collection range, so that the low frequency band within the sound collection range Even when the sound is insufficient, the sound emitted from at least one of the first auxiliary speaker and the second auxiliary speaker enhances the sound heard in the sound collection range, particularly in the low frequency band, and the sound collection range. The effect that the sound quality of the sound heard inside can be improved is obtained.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 4 or 20, the sound component of the relatively high frequency transmitted by the synthetic sound wave is prevented from being excessively converged and is made substantially uniform, so that the sound collection range is The effect that it becomes easy to hear the sound of a relatively high frequency inside is obtained.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5 or 21, even when sound is collected in an acoustic environment such as a room surrounded by walls and ceilings, the sound heard within the sound collection range The effect that the sound quality can be improved is obtained.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 6, even if the position of the object is changed, it is possible to control so that only the object hears the sound.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 7 or 22, the effect that the object can hear the sound more clearly can be obtained.

According to the invention described in claim 8 or 23, without providing a plurality of sound transmission devices according to the present invention,
The effect is that a plurality of sound collection ranges can be set. It goes without saying that different sounds can be collected for each sound collection range.

According to the ninth or twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, the sound emitted from the predetermined sound source is generated in each of the sound collecting range corresponding to the left ear and the sound collecting range corresponding to the right ear of the object. By collecting the sound recorded at the position on the left side and the sound recorded at the position on the right side of the sound source, it is possible to obtain the effect of making the object feel stereo.

According to the invention described in claim 10 or 25, only when the object arrives within the sound collection range, it is possible to collect sound in the sound collection range and make the object hear the sound. The effect of, is obtained.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 11 or 26, it is possible to obtain the effect that the sound quality of the sound heard within the sound collection range can be improved regardless of the change in the state of the acoustic environment. To be

According to the twelfth aspect of the invention, there is an effect that the position of the object can be promptly recognized without changing the direction of the photographing means and the focus adjustment following the movement of the object. can get. Also,
Since a mechanical operating mechanism for changing the direction of the photographing means and adjusting the focus is unnecessary, the structure of the photographing means and the sound extraction device can be simplified, and the number of mechanical actuation parts is reduced. The effect that the durability can be improved is also obtained. Further, there is an effect that the sound collection range can be set based on the recognized position of the object, and the sound can be transmitted only within the sound collection range.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the shape recognizing means and the three-dimensional coordinate calculating means forming the image recognizing means promptly obtain the three-dimensional coordinates of the object and promptly recognize the position of the object. The effect that can be obtained is obtained.

According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, since the minute area can be subdivided to the limit of the resolution of the area sensor, the shape of the object can be obtained by obtaining the minute area occupied by the object from the image information. The effect of being able to recognize the details is obtained.

According to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to eliminate shadow areas in different image information photographed by a plurality of photographing means and accurately recognize the shape of the object. The effect is obtained.

According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, the two-dimensional coordinates formed on the area sensor are acquired, and the position of the object (three-dimensional coordinates) is determined based on the acquired plurality of two-dimensional coordinates. The effect is that it can be recognized accurately.

According to the seventeenth aspect of the invention, since the object image can be formed on the area sensor by the reflecting means, the position of the object can be accurately recognized even if there is only one photographing means. Further, after the sound collection range is set based on the position, the sound can be transmitted only within the sound collection range.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a sound transmission device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a sound transmission device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control routine executed on the central control terminal side according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control routine executed on the speaker module side according to the first, second and sixth embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a waveform of a synthetic sound wave according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a sound transmission device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a waveform of a synthetic sound wave and a waveform of a sound wave emitted from an auxiliary speaker according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a control routine executed on the central control terminal side according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing an example in which the auxiliary speaker according to the second embodiment is arranged under the floor.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a sound transmission device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a control routine executed on the central control terminal side according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a control routine executed on the speaker module side according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing propagation paths of direct sound waves and all reflected sound waves according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing respective waveforms of a direct sound wave, all reflected sound waves, and a transmitted wave according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a sound transmission device according to another aspect of the third embodiment, and the fourth and fifth embodiments.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of television cameras in another implementation of the third embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a control routine executed on the central control terminal side according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a control routine executed on the speaker module side according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing a wavefront of a sound wave that converges on each of a plurality of sound collection ranges according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a sound transmission device according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a control routine executed on the central control terminal side according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a control routine executed on the speaker module side according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram showing a wavefront of a sound wave that converges on each of the left and right ears of a listener according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a sound transmission device according to a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing a control routine executed on the central control terminal side according to the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a sound transmission device according to a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of television cameras according to seventh to ninth embodiments.

FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a sound transmission device according to seventh to ninth embodiments.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing a control routine executed by the central control terminal according to the seventh to ninth embodiments.

FIG. 30 is a flow chart showing a subroutine of sound collection range setting processing according to the seventh and eighth embodiments.

FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of object classification processing.

FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a concept of sorting objects.

FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram illustrating various amounts such as the height of an object.

FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a relationship between a shadow part of an object and a voxel.

35A is a diagram showing voxels based on image data of the television camera A, FIG. 35B is a diagram showing voxels based on image data of the television camera B, and FIG. 35C is image data of the television camera C. 3D is a diagram showing voxels according to FIG. 3, and FIG. 3D is a diagram showing voxels according to image data of the television camera D.

FIG. 36 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the concept of voxels narrowed down by the second narrowing down.

[Fig. 37] Fig. 37 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the concept of converting voxels narrowed down by the second narrowing down to a dummy model.

FIG. 38 is a conceptual diagram illustrating various amounts when three-dimensional coordinates are calculated by two TV cameras.

FIG. 39 is a diagram showing various arrangements of a television camera or a mirror.

[Fig. 40] Fig. 40 is a conceptual diagram illustrating various amounts when three-dimensional coordinates are calculated by one TV camera and one mirror.

FIG. 41 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the positions of the CCD area image sensor and the like of the eighth embodiment.

FIG. 42 is a flow chart showing a subroutine of setting processing of a sound collection range according to the ninth embodiment.

FIG. 43 is a plan view showing the arrangement of objects and television cameras of the ninth embodiment.

44A is a diagram showing an image of image data of the television camera A, FIG. 44B is a diagram showing an image of image data of the television camera B, and FIG. 44C is image data of the television camera C. It is a figure which shows the image of FIG.
It is a figure which shows the image of the image data of.

FIG. 45A is a diagram showing an image when the distorted image data of the television camera A is converted into flattened image data, and FIG. 45B is a diagram showing the distorted image data of the television camera B. It is a figure which shows the image when converting into image data, (C) is a figure which shows the image when converting the image data of the distorted television camera C into the planarized image data, (D) is distorted. It is a figure which shows the image when converting the image data of the television camera D into the planarized image data.

FIG. 46 (A) is a diagram showing an image of image data directly in front, (B) is a diagram showing an image of image data directly beside, and (C) is a diagram showing an image of image data immediately above. Is.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 sound transmission device 11 central control terminal 30 speaker module 36 omnidirectional speaker 68 directional speaker 72 television camera (imaging means) 72A equidistant projection type fisheye lens (wide-angle fixed focus lens) 72B CCD area image sensor (area sensor) 80 temperature Sensor 82 Weight sensor 136 Mirror (reflection means)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Sho Daisaku 1-5, Otsuka, Inzai-cho, Inba-gun, Chiba Inside Takenaka Corporation Technical Research Institute (72) Kenichi Unno 1-5 Otsuka, Inzai-cho, Inba-gun, Chiba Stocks Company Takenaka Corporation Technical Research Institute (72) Inventor Tatsumi Nakashima 1-5 Otsuka, Inzai-cho, Inba-gun, Chiba Takenaka Corporation Technical Research Institute (72) Inventor Nobuyoshi Murai 1-5 Otsuka, Inzai-cho, Inba-gun Chiba Company Takenaka Corporation Technical Research Institute

Claims (26)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of omnidirectional speakers that emit a sound corresponding to a supplied audio signal, and a sound collection range as an area range to be collected, and sound waves emitted from each of the plurality of speakers. The phase of the audio signal to be supplied to each of the plurality of speakers is set to be shifted from each other so that the synthetic sound wave having the wavefront of the envelope surface of the wavefront converges in the sound collection range, and the sound signal is emitted from each of the plurality of speakers. The amplitude of the audio signal is set so that the sound pressure of the generated sound becomes a level at which it is difficult to accurately grasp the content, and the audio signal with the phase and the amplitude set is supplied to each of the plurality of speakers. A sound transmission device comprising: a control unit. 2. The control means is configured such that, among the plurality of speakers, a speaker whose distance from the sound collecting range is shorter than a predetermined distance has an amplitude of an audio signal which is greater than an amplitude of an audio signal which is supplied to another speaker. The sound transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the amplitude of the audio signal is set so as to be large. 3. The control means further comprises at least one of a first auxiliary speaker having directivity arranged toward the sound collection range and a second auxiliary speaker arranged near the sound collection range. The sound transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the audio signal is supplied to at least one of the first auxiliary speaker and the second auxiliary speaker. 4. The control means sets the phases of the audio signals supplied to each of the plurality of speakers so as to be shifted from each other so that the wavefront of the synthesized sound wave is disturbed by a predetermined value or less. Item 1. The sound transmission device according to item 1. 5. Based on information representing the state of the acoustic environment,
First computing means for computing, for each of the plurality of speakers, a waveform of a reflected sound wave that reaches a sound collecting range after being reflected by a reflector among sounds emitted from a predetermined speaker, and the first computing means. Based on the waveform of the reflected sound calculated by, the waveform of the audio signal to be supplied to the predetermined speaker in order to cancel the reflected wave by the sound wave that directly reaches the sound collection range from the predetermined speaker, A second arithmetic means for performing arithmetic operation on each of the speakers, and the control means supplies the audio signal calculated for each speaker by the second arithmetic means to each of the plurality of speakers. The sound transmission device according to claim 1. 6. A position detecting means for detecting a position of an object as a sound transmission target is further provided, and the control means sets the sound collecting range based on the position of the object detected by the position detecting means. The sound transmission device according to claim 1, wherein: 7. The position estimation means for estimating the position and direction of the ear of the object whose position has been detected by the position detection means is further provided, and the control means has the ear position of the object estimated by the position estimation means. 7. The sound transmission device according to claim 6, wherein the sound collection range is set at a position that matches the hearing directivity of the object based on the direction and the direction. 8. A third calculating means for calculating, for each of the plurality of speakers, a phase difference between a plurality of audio signals corresponding to a plurality of sounds to be emitted from a predetermined speaker to each of the plurality of sound collection ranges. And a fourth arithmetic means for arithmetically operating, for each of the plurality of loudspeakers, a waveform of an audio signal obtained by superimposing a plurality of audio signals whose phase difference is calculated by the third arithmetic means, 2. The sound transmitting device according to claim 1, wherein the sound signal is obtained by superimposing a plurality of sound signals calculated for each speaker by the fourth calculating means on each of the plurality of speakers. 9. Position detecting means for detecting a position of an object as a sound transmission target, and position estimating means for estimating a left ear position and a right ear position of the object whose position is detected by the position detecting means. 9. The control means further sets the sound collection range corresponding to each ear based on the positions of the left and right ears estimated by the position estimation means. Sound transmission device. 10. An object detection means for detecting whether or not an object as a sound transmission target has come within a predetermined sound collection range, and the control means is the sound collection range by the object detection means. 2. The sound transmitting device according to claim 1, wherein an audio signal is supplied to each of the plurality of speakers when an arrival of an object is detected. 11. An environment detecting means for detecting a state of an acoustic environment, wherein the control means is based on the changed state of the acoustic environment when the state of the acoustic environment detected by the environment detecting means changes. 2. The sound transmission device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of an amplitude and a phase difference of the audio signal supplied to each of the plurality of speakers is changed. 12. An omnidirectional speaker that emits a sound corresponding to a supplied audio signal, a wide-angle fixed-focus lens that is arranged at a predetermined position, and includes an object as a sound transmission target. A photographing means for photographing the area, a position recognition means for recognizing the position of the object from the image information of the area photographed by the photographing means, and a sound collection range set based on the position of the object recognized by the position recognition means Then, the phases of the audio signals to be supplied to each of the plurality of speakers are shifted from each other so that the composite sound wave having the wavefront of the wavefront of the sound wave emitted from each of the plurality of speakers converges in the sound collection range. And set the amplitude of the audio signal so that the sound pressure of the sound emitted from each of the plurality of speakers becomes a level at which it is difficult to accurately grasp the content. And a control unit that supplies the audio signal, the phase and amplitude of which are set, to each of the plurality of speakers. 13. A plurality of the photographing means are provided,
Each photographing means further comprises an area sensor arranged at an image forming point by the wide-angle fixed focus lens, and the position recognition means processes different photographing information photographed by the plurality of photographing means to shape the shape of the object. 13. The sound transmission according to claim 12, further comprising: a shape recognizing unit for recognizing an object and a three-dimensional coordinate calculating unit for calculating a three-dimensional coordinate of the object recognized by the shape recognizing unit. apparatus. 14. The shape recognizing means, based on different image information captured by the plurality of image capturing means,
Of a large number of cubic microspaces obtained by virtually subdividing the three-dimensional space along each of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis, the region formed by the microspace occupied by the object 14. The sound transmitting device according to claim 13, wherein the shape of the object is recognized by obtaining the shape. 15. The shape recognition means, based on different image information captured by the plurality of imaging means,
Of a large number of cubic microspaces obtained by virtually subdividing the three-dimensional space along each of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions, within the viewing angle at which the object is projected from each photographing means. 14. The sound transmitting device according to claim 13, wherein the shape of the object is recognized by extracting each of the included microspaces and obtaining a region formed by the microspaces included in all of the extracted microspaces. 16. A plurality of the photographing means are provided,
Each photographing means further comprises an area sensor arranged at an image forming point by the wide-angle fixed focus lens, and the position recognition means acquires two-dimensional coordinates formed on the area sensor of each photographing means, The sound transmission device according to claim 12, wherein the position of the object is recognized based on the acquired plurality of two-dimensional coordinates. 17. A plurality of omnidirectional speakers that emit a sound corresponding to a supplied audio signal, a wide-angle fixed-focus lens arranged at a predetermined position, and an imaging point formed by the lenses. An image pickup unit that includes an area sensor and takes an image of an area including an object as a sound transmission target; and a reflection unit that is arranged in the vicinity of the image pickup unit and that reflects an image of the object so as to form an image on the area sensor. An object image reflected by the reflecting means and formed on the area sensor, and an object image formed on the area sensor without being reflected by the reflecting means on the area sensor. The position of the object is recognized by acquiring the three-dimensional coordinates and calculating the three-dimensional coordinates of the object based on the acquired two-dimensional coordinates. A position recognizing unit for recognizing, a sound collection range is set based on the position of the object recognized by the position recognizing unit, and a synthetic sound wave having a wavefront of an envelope surface of a sound wave emitted from each of the plurality of speakers The phase of the audio signal to be supplied to each of the plurality of speakers is set so as to be shifted so as to converge to the sound collection range, and the sound pressure of the sound emitted from each of the plurality of speakers is accurately grasped. And a control means for setting the amplitude of the audio signal to a level at which it is difficult to perform, and supplying the audio signal with the phase and amplitude set to each of the plurality of speakers. 18. The amplitude of an audio signal supplied to a speaker of the plurality of speakers whose distance from the sound collection range is shorter than a predetermined distance is greater than the amplitude of an audio signal supplied to another speaker. 18. The amplitude of the audio signal is set so as to be large.
The sound transmission device according to claim 1. 19. The control means further comprises at least one of a first auxiliary speaker having directivity arranged toward the sound collection range and a second auxiliary speaker arranged near the sound collection range. 18. The sound transmission device according to claim 12, further comprising supplying an audio signal to at least one of the first auxiliary speaker and the second auxiliary speaker. 20. The control means sets the phase of the audio signal supplied to each of the plurality of speakers so as to be shifted from each other so that the wavefront of the synthesized sound wave is disturbed by a predetermined value or less. Item 18. The sound transmission device according to any one of Items 12 to 17. 21. Based on the information indicating the state of the acoustic environment, a waveform of a reflected sound wave that reaches a sound collection range after being reflected by a reflector among sounds emitted from a predetermined speaker is given to each of the plurality of speakers. Based on the waveform of the reflected sound calculated by the first calculating means, the predetermined wave for canceling the reflected wave by the sound wave that directly reaches the sound collection range from a predetermined speaker. Second computing means for computing the waveform of the audio signal to be supplied to the speaker for each of the plurality of speakers, and the control means is computed for each speaker by the second computing means. 18. The sound transmission device according to claim 12, wherein the sound signal is supplied to each of the plurality of speakers. 22. The apparatus further comprises a first ear estimation means for estimating a position and a direction of an ear of the object whose position is recognized by the position recognition means, wherein the control means is estimated by the first ear estimation means. 18. The sound collection range is set at a position that matches the hearing directivity of the object based on the position and direction of the ear of the object.
The sound transmission device according to item. 23. Third calculating means for calculating, for each of the plurality of speakers, a phase difference between a plurality of audio signals corresponding to a plurality of sounds to be emitted from a predetermined speaker to each of the plurality of sound collection ranges. And a fourth arithmetic means for arithmetically operating, for each of the plurality of loudspeakers, a waveform of an audio signal obtained by superimposing a plurality of audio signals whose phase difference is calculated by the third arithmetic means, 18. The audio signal obtained by superimposing a plurality of audio signals calculated for each speaker by the fourth calculating means is supplied to each of the plurality of speakers. The sound transmission device described in. 24. A second ear estimation means for estimating the position of the left ear and the position of the right ear of the object whose position is recognized by the position recognition means, further comprising: the control means; The sound collection range corresponding to each ear is set based on the positions of the left ear and the right ear estimated by the means.
7. The sound transmission device according to any one of 7. 25. An object detection means for detecting whether or not an object has arrived within a predetermined sound collection range, wherein the control means has the object detected by the object detection means. 18. The sound transmission device according to claim 12, wherein a sound signal is supplied to each of the plurality of speakers when it is detected. 26. An environment detecting means for detecting a state of the acoustic environment is further provided, and the control means is based on the changed state of the acoustic environment when the state of the acoustic environment detected by the environment detecting means changes. 18. The sound transmission device according to claim 12, wherein at least one of an amplitude and a phase difference of an audio signal supplied to each of the plurality of speakers is changed.