Disclosure of Invention
In view of this, the present invention provides a microphone array module, which has an external audio interface equivalent to a microphone, and has a function of simplifying the system structure.
To achieve the purpose, the invention adopts the following technical scheme:
a microphone array module, comprising:
a plurality of microphone units arranged in an array;
and the signal processing units are respectively connected with the microphone units and are used for combining the signals of the microphone units into one output signal.
Preferably, the microphone unit and the signal processing unit are both arranged on the PCB, and the output signals combined by the signal processing unit are output by the PCB.
Preferably, the signal processing unit includes a plurality of operation modules, each operation module has a plurality of input ends, the plurality of input ends are respectively connected with the plurality of microphone units, and the operation module is used for performing weighted summation operation on signals input by the plurality of microphone units into the signal processing unit so as to generate a composite signal;
the signal processing unit further comprises a superposition module, the output end of each operation module is connected with the superposition module, and composite signals generated by a plurality of operation modules are superposed by the superposition module to form the output signals.
Preferably, the number of the operation modules is 2 to 4.
Preferably, a filter is disposed between each operation module and the superposition module.
Preferably, the signal processing unit further includes a plurality of signal processing paths respectively corresponding to the plurality of microphone units, the signal processing paths include an adaptive delta modulation module and a downsampling module which are sequentially connected, and signals input by the microphone units are processed by the signal processing paths and then input to the operation module.
Preferably, the signal processing path further comprises a FIFO module arranged between the adaptive delta modulation module and the microphone unit.
Preferably, the signal processing unit includes a configuration module, configured to configure working parameters of each module of the signal processing unit.
Preferably, the signal processing unit is provided with an audio interface, and the audio interface comprises a digital audio interface and/or an analog audio interface;
and the signal output by the superposition module is output through the digital audio interface or is output through the analog audio interface after being converted by a digital/analog converter.
Preferably, the signal processing unit further comprises an oscillator module for generating a clock signal of a predetermined frequency when no valid clock signal is input.
The beneficial effects of the invention are as follows:
the microphone array module integrates the signal processing unit for combining the signals of the microphone units into the microphone array module, and outputs a single-channel audio signal to the system by taking the array as a whole, so that the microphone array module does not occupy the computing resources of the system, is convenient for the application of the microphone array, and is also beneficial to reducing the power consumption of the system.
In addition, the microphone array module is used as an integral part, so that the connection line is simple, and the space design and the assembly of the system are convenient.
Detailed Description
The present invention is described below based on examples, but the present invention is not limited to only these examples. In the following detailed description of the present invention, certain specific details are set forth in detail. The present invention will be fully understood by those skilled in the art without the details described herein. Well-known methods, procedures, flows, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the nature of the invention.
An embodiment of the microphone array module of the present invention is described below with reference to fig. 2 and 3.
The microphone array module provided by the invention comprises a plurality of microphone units 1 arranged in an array mode, and further comprises signal processing units 2 respectively connected with the plurality of microphone units 1, wherein the signal processing units 2 are used for combining signals of the plurality of microphone units 1 into one output signal.
The microphone array module integrates the signal processing unit 2 for combining the signals of the microphone units into the microphone array module, and outputs a single-channel audio signal to the system by taking the array as a whole, so that the microphone array module does not occupy the computing resource of the system, is convenient for the application of the microphone array, and is also beneficial to reducing the power consumption of the system. In addition, the microphone array module is used as an integral part, so that the connection line is simple, and the space design and the assembly of the system are convenient.
Further, as shown in fig. 2, the microphone unit 1 and the signal processing unit 2 are both disposed on the PCB board 3, and the output signals combined by the signal processing unit 2 are output from the PCB board 3 through the PCB board 3 to realize line connection.
The array method of the plurality of microphone units 1 is not limited, and may be, for example, an end-fire (endfire) array as shown in fig. 2, or a side-fire (broadside) array, or the like.
The structure of the microphone array module will be specifically described below by taking four microphone units 1 in an end-fire array as an example.
As shown in fig. 2, the PCB 3 is in a strip shape, four microphone units 1 are sequentially arranged on the PCB 3, the signal processing unit 2 is located in the middle of the PCB 3, and the signal processing unit 2 is a ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) chip. Inside the signal processing unit 2, the signals of the plurality of microphone units 1 are subjected to necessary operations to synthesize a path of audio signals with directivity, and are connected to pad outputs on the PCB board 3. The operation of using this module is the same as using a microphone for the microphone application circuit, greatly simplifying the system design. In addition, because the algorithm is integrated in the module, the participation of a controller and a processor is not needed, and the power consumption of the system can be saved.
Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of the signal processing unit. As shown in the figure, the signal processing unit 2 has a plurality of interfaces including a power interface (not shown in the figure), an audio interface for connection with an audio system, a microphone interface 201 for connection with the microphone unit 1, and an MCU control interface 202 for connection with a controller.
Taking the microphone unit 1 as a digital microphone for example, a digital clock may be provided to the microphone unit 1 through the microphone interface 201, and a signal generated by the microphone unit 1 may be received.
The audio interfaces include a digital audio interface 203 and/or an analog audio interface 204, where the analog audio interface 204 is configured for an audio system without the digital audio interface 203, and a digital/analog converter 212 (DAC) is required to be configured at the analog audio interface 204 to convert the signal and output the converted signal. From the sound can be received through the digital audio interface 203A clock signal of the frequency system and may output the combined output signal to the audio system. As a preferred embodiment, digital audio interface 203 is I 2 The S interface, the clock signal includes a Bit Clock (BCLK) signal and a frame clock (LRCK) signal, where the frame clock (LRCK) signal is a clock signal determining a sampling frequency, for example, when the bit clock signal input by the digital audio interface 203 is a clock signal with 64 times of PCM sampling frequency, the clock signal in the microphone interface 201 is derived from the bit clock signal, so that the microphone unit 1 also operates at 64 times of PCM sampling frequency, specifically, for example, when the PCM sampling frequency is 48kHz, the bit clock signal is 3.072MHz, and the clock frequency of the microphone unit 1 is 3.072MHz.
MCU control interface 202 may be a standard SPI three-wire interface, or may be a two-wire I 2 And C, the controller can perform read-write operation through the MCU control interface 202.
The signal processing unit 2 includes four operation modules 205, and the operation modules 205 have four input terminals, which are connected to the four microphone units 1, respectively. The four operation modules 205 are respectively configured to perform weighted summation operation on the signals generated by the four microphone units 1, and generate four composite signals, that is, PCM words of each composite signal are obtained by multiplying PCM words corresponding to the signals generated by the four microphone units 1 by a weight coefficient and then adding the PCM words, where the weight coefficient can be set according to specific requirements.
The output ends of the four operation modules 205 are connected with a superposition module 206. The four composite signals generated by the four operation modules 205 are fed into the superposition module 206, and the four composite signals are superposed by the superposition module 206 to form an output signal for output.
Further, a filter 207 is disposed between each operation module 205 and the superposition module 206, and four paths of composite signals obtained by weighted summation pass through the filter 207 and then are added by the superposition module 206. The specific structure of the filter 207 is not limited, and may be, for example, a FIR (Finite Impulse Response) filter, a IIR (Infinite Impulse Response) filter, or the like, and the coefficient of the filter 207 may be set according to specific requirements.
Of course, it is understood that the number of the operation modules 205 is not limited to four, and the preferred range is 2 to 4.
Further, the signal processing unit 2 includes four signal processing paths respectively provided corresponding to the four microphone units 1, for processing signals input from the four microphone units 1, respectively. The signal processing path comprises a FIFO block 208, an adaptive delta modulation block 209 (ADM) and a downsampling block 210, which are connected in sequence.
The FIFO (First Input First Output) module can play a role of signal delay, and the delay time of each path of microphone unit signal can be set by setting the effective length of the FIFO module 208.
The microphone unit 1 outputs a 1-bit 1, 0 signal, i.e. an ADM code stream, which is delayed by the FIFO module 208 and then input to the adaptive delta modulation module 209, i.e. an ADM decoder, which processes the output of an oversampled PCM code, e.g. a 64-fold oversampled PCM code.
The over-sampled PCM stream output by the ADM decoder is down-sampled by the down-sampling module 210 to obtain a PCM audio signal having the same sampling frequency as the frame clock signal of the digital audio interface 203. The four-way PCM audio signal is subjected to subsequent weighted summation and superposition operations, and the subsequent operations are also performed at the same sampling frequency. The superimposed output signal is output by the digital audio interface 203.
Further, the system further comprises a configuration module 213, and the configuration module 213 configures the working parameters of each module of the signal processing unit 2, including parameter registers, where the parameters include weight coefficients of each operation module 205 when performing a weighted summation operation, coefficients of each filter 207, effective lengths of the FIFO modules 208, and so on. The parameter register can be used for data read-write operation of the controller through the MCU control interface 202.
In a preferred embodiment, the output end of the superimposing module 206 is further connected to the analog audio interface 204 through the up-sampling module 211 and the digital-to-analog converter 212, and the superimposed signal is processed by the up-sampling module 211 and converted into an analog signal by the digital-to-analog converter 212, so that the superimposing module is suitable for an audio system without the digital audio interface 203 and without the analog audio interface 204. The upsampling multiple of the upsampling module 211 may be, but is not limited to, 4 times, 8 times, 16 times, 32 times, or 64 times.
In a preferred embodiment, the signal processing unit 2 further comprises an oscillator module 214, wherein when no valid clock signal is input from the outside, the oscillator module 214 is enabled to provide a clock signal with a predetermined frequency for the digital system instead of the clock signal, so as to ensure that the audio signal can be output normally at the analog audio interface 204. For example, the frequency of the clock signal is 2.4MHz.
Of course, the microphone array module provided by the invention is also suitable for an analog microphone, that is, the microphone unit 1 can be an analog microphone, and only a corresponding a/D conversion module is needed to be added in the signal processing unit 2.
Moreover, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the drawings are provided herein for illustrative purposes and that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.
At the same time, it should be understood that the example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope thereof to those skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth, such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms without the use of specific details, and that the example embodiments should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known device structures and well-known techniques have not been described in detail.
When an element or layer is referred to as being "on," "engaged to," "connected to" or "coupled to" another element or layer, it can be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on," "directly engaged to," "directly connected to," or "directly coupled to" another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a similar fashion (e.g., "between" and "directly between", "adjacent" and "directly adjacent", etc.). As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any or all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another element, region, layer or section. Terms such as "first," "second," and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments. Furthermore, in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise indicated, the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more.
The above description is only of the preferred embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention, and various modifications and variations may be made to the present invention by those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.