JP2000020074A - Device having sound producing function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce or silence the sounds of a device, such as a still camera, having relatively large mechanical sounds or to emphasize the sounds of a device, such as a digital camera, which is extremely small in mechanical sounds. SOLUTION: The mechanical operation sounds are detected by a sound collector 105, such as a microphone, and an amplification factor by a sound producing body drive circuit 204 is determined according to the level of the sounds detected by a control circuit 201. The timing adjustment, etc., for correcting the delay in the time required for sound signal processing is than executed. Reducing or erasing of the operation sounds is executed by inverting the phase of the operation tones detected by the sound collector 105 with a phase control circuit 202, amplifying the sounds by the sound producing body drive circuit 204, driving a sound producing body assembly 106 and producing the sounds of nearly the same level as the level of the sounds and the antiphase therefrom or the sounds amplifying the sounds.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device having a sound generating function, and more particularly to a device having a mechanical operation sound such as a still camera and a device having a very small mechanical operation sound such as a digital camera. To improve the sound quality of operation sound and to confirm operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-177404, in a device such as a digital camera which has very little or no mechanical operation sound, a silver image is taken along with a photographing operation. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a camera that generates a pseudo sound such as a shutter release sound of a still camera using a salt film.

On the other hand, in the case of a device such as a still camera which involves a mechanical operation, it is impossible to eliminate the generation of the operation sound itself. Noise reduction measures in design, such as selection of materials or sticking of a sound absorbing material such as maltprene to the inside of the housing, have been taken.

[0004]

However, there is a limit to the reduction of the operation noise even by the above-mentioned sound reduction measures in design, and these measures have the problem of directly increasing the cost of the product. . In particular, for products where cost is important, sound reduction measures have not been taken so actively. For this reason, in a product for which no sound reduction measures have been taken, there has been a problem that an unexpected discomfort sound may be generated due to an operation sound accompanying a mechanical operation reverberating inside the housing.

Further, in a device such as a digital camera which has almost no mechanical operation sound, for example, when remote control or self-timer shooting is performed, a user who is away from the device determines whether or not the operation of the device has been completed. It was difficult to judge whether or not this was the case.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and does not increase the cost and improves the sound quality such as reduction or enhancement of mechanical operation sound by a relatively simple structure. It is another object of the present invention to provide a device having a sound generation function capable of confirming operation.

[0007]

To achieve the above object, an apparatus having a sound generating function according to the present invention comprises a detecting device for detecting an operation sound of the device and a detecting device for detecting that the device has been operated by the detecting device. A sound generating device for generating a predetermined sound.

[0008] In the above configuration, the sound generating device further includes a sound signal generating device for synthesizing a sound signal, and detects an operation sound of the device, generates a sound signal using the detected operation sound, and generates a sound. You may.

Alternatively, the sound generating device further includes a memory for storing a sound signal recorded in advance and a sound signal generating device for synthesizing the sound signal, wherein the sound signal is generated using the sound signal stored in advance. , May be configured to sound.

[0010] The sound produced by the sounding device may be configured to cancel the operation sound of the device.

Alternatively, the sound produced by the sounding device may be a sound that emphasizes the operation sound of the device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device having a sound generating function, comprising: a detecting device for detecting an operation state of the device; and a sound generating device for generating a predetermined sound when the detecting device detects that the device has operated. And

In the above configuration, the detection device can identify a plurality of types of operations, the sound generation device stores a plurality of audio signals corresponding to the plurality of types of operations, and an operation identified by the detection device. May be configured to include a signal selection unit that selects and calls an audio signal corresponding to the audio signal from the memory, and a sound generation unit that generates audio using the read audio signal.

According to these configurations, when the apparatus is accompanied by a mechanical operation sound, the operation sound can be reduced or muted by generating a sound having a phase opposite to that of the operation sound. On the other hand, when the device has a very low mechanical operation sound, the operation of the device is detected and a pseudo sound is generated, so that the user can be notified that the operation has been performed. . In addition, when the operation sound of the device is not so preferable, the sound quality of the operation sound can be improved by generating a suitable operation sound stored in advance.

[0015]

(First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention.
An embodiment will be described. Recent still cameras are
In addition to the shutter operation sound and the mirror operation sound for single-lens reflex cameras, the automatic film rewinding and rewinding sound, the lens driving sound for automatic focusing of the lens, and the zooming drive for motorized zoom lenses Various mechanical operation sounds such as sounds are generated. The first embodiment relates to reduction or silencing of the operation sound of a device having a relatively large mechanical operation sound.

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of a still camera according to the first embodiment. On the front of the camera 100, for example, an imaging lens 101 such as a zoom lens,
02, the light receiving unit 103 of the photometric circuit, the finder 104,
A sound collecting device 105 such as a microphone and a sound generating device 106 such as a speaker are provided. The camera body 100
The operation dial 107 for selecting a shutter speed, a control mode, and the like, and a shutter release button 1
08 etc. are provided.

FIG. 2 shows a block configuration of the control unit according to the first embodiment. The control unit 200 includes a control circuit 20 such as a CPU.
1, an operation sound detection circuit 202 that performs predetermined processing such as A / D conversion on the sound signal from the sound collection device 105 and outputs the processed signal,
A phase control circuit 203 that performs phase control such as phase inversion of the sound signal from the operation sound detection circuit 202 and a sounding body drive circuit 204 that performs processing such as amplification on the phase-controlled sound signal to drive the sounding device 106. Have.

For example, when the shutter release operation of the camera is performed, the sound collecting device 105 collects the operation sound “kasha”, converts it into an electric signal (sound signal), and converts it into an electric signal (sound signal).
02 is output. The operation sound detection circuit 202 detects the level of the input sound signal and converts the analog sound signal into an A / A signal.
The signal is D-converted and output to the control circuit 201. In addition, an analog signal or a digitized sound signal is output to the phase control circuit 203. The control circuit 201 controls the sounding body driving circuit 204 according to the level of the input sound signal.
To determine the amplification factor or the like, or to adjust the timing for correcting the delay in the time required for the sound signal processing. The phase control circuit 202 inverts the phase of the sound signal from the operation sound detection circuit 202, shifts the phase of the inverted sound signal according to the timing signal from the control circuit 201, and outputs it to the sounding body drive circuit 204. Sounding body drive circuit 204
Amplifies the signal from the phase control circuit 203 in accordance with the amplification factor signal from the control circuit 201, and drives the sound generator 106 using the amplified signal. As a result, the pronunciation device 106
, A sound having substantially the same level as the operation sound of the camera and having the opposite phase is generated, and the operation sound of the camera is reduced or eliminated.

The same applies to the case where the mechanical operation sound is a film automatic winding and rewinding sound, a lens driving sound for automatic focusing of a lens, a zooming driving sound in the case of an electric zoom lens, and the like.

(Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, for example, when the operation sound of a device such as a camera is not so preferable,
The present invention relates to improvement of operation sound by generating a suitable operation sound stored in advance.

FIG. 3 shows a block configuration of a control unit according to the second embodiment. The control unit 200 includes a control circuit 20 such as a CPU.
1, an operation sound detection circuit 202 that performs predetermined processing such as A / D conversion on the sound signal from the sound collection device 105 and outputs the processed signal,
A memory 205 for storing the operation sound of another device or an artificially generated pseudo sound recorded in advance, and a signal read out from the memory 205 by inverting the phase of a sound signal from the operation sound detection circuit 202. A phase control circuit 203 for performing phase control such as synthesis of a sound signal, and a sounding body driving circuit 204 for performing a process such as amplification on the sound signal subjected to the phase control to drive the sounding device 106.

For example, when a shutter release operation of the camera is performed, the sound collecting device 105 collects an operation sound called “Gasha”, converts the sound into an electric signal (sound signal), and converts the sound into an electric signal (sound signal).
02 is output. The operation sound detection circuit 202 detects the level of the input sound signal and converts the analog sound signal into an A / A signal.
The signal is D-converted and output to the control circuit 201. In addition, an analog signal or a digitized sound signal is output to the phase control circuit 203. The control circuit 210 determines the type of operation sound from the input sound signal. If it is determined that the shutter release operation is performed, the control circuit 201
Reads out the shutter release sound from the operation sounds stored in the memory 205 and outputs it to the phase control circuit 205. Further, the control circuit 201 determines an amplification factor and the like by the sounding body drive circuit 204 according to the level of the input sound signal, and performs timing adjustment for correcting a delay in time required for the sound signal processing. The phase control circuit 202
Invert the phase of the sound signal from the operation sound detection circuit 202,
The sound signal inverted in accordance with the timing signal from the control circuit 201 is shifted in phase to eliminate the operation sound of the device itself, and the operation sound signal read out from the memory 205 is synthesized and transmitted to the sounding body drive circuit 204. Output. The sounding body drive circuit 204 amplifies the signal from the phase control circuit 203 according to the amplification factor signal from the control circuit 201, and drives the sounding device 106 using the amplified signal. As a result, the sounding device 106 deletes the camera's original operation sound (for example, the above-mentioned “gasha” sound) and generates an operation sound (for example, a “kasha” sound) that gives a comfortable sound to the user. .

In the second embodiment, the type of operation is determined based on the operation sound collected by the sound collection device 105. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It may be configured to determine whether the operation currently being performed is a shutter release operation, a film winding operation, or the like based on a control sequence or the like in the control circuit.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the third embodiment, for example, in the case of a device whose mechanical operation sound is extremely small, such as a digital camera, the operation sound of the device is detected, and the operation sound is reduced instead of being reduced or muted. It amplifies and notifies the user of the completion of the operation of the apparatus. The third
The block configuration of the control unit according to the first embodiment is the same as that of the first
Since this is the same as the case of the embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

For example, when a shutter release operation of the digital camera is performed, the sound collecting device 105 collects a very small operation sound called “punch”, converts the sound into an electric signal (sound signal), and sends it to the operation sound detection circuit 202. Output. The operation sound detection circuit 202 detects the level of the input sound signal,
An analog sound signal is A / D converted and output to the control circuit 201. In addition, an analog signal or a digitized sound signal is output to the phase control circuit 203. The control circuit 201 determines the amplification factor and the like by the sounding body drive circuit 204 according to the level of the input sound signal, and adjusts the timing for correcting a delay in time required for the sound signal processing. The phase control circuit 202 outputs the sound signal from the operation sound detection circuit 202 to the sounding body drive circuit 204 without inverting the phase of the sound signal. The sounding body drive circuit 204 amplifies the signal from the phase control circuit 203 according to the amplification factor signal from the control circuit 201, and drives the sounding device 106 using the amplified signal. As a result, the amplified operation sound is generated from the sound generation device 106, and the user knows that the shooting is completed.

(Fourth Embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the fourth embodiment, in the case of a device such as a digital camera having a very small mechanical operation sound, the completion of the operation of the device is detected, and the user is notified of the completion of the operation of the device by voice. . Alternatively, in the case of a device having a relatively large mechanical operation sound such as a still camera, the operation sound can be reduced or eliminated as in the first embodiment, and the completion of the operation can be notified by voice. .

FIG. 4 shows a block configuration of a control unit according to the fourth embodiment. The control unit 200 includes a control circuit 20 such as a CPU.
1, an operation sound detection circuit 202 that performs predetermined processing such as A / D conversion on the sound signal from the sound collection device 105 and outputs the processed signal,
An operation detection circuit 207 for detecting the operation state of the apparatus from ON / OFF of an operation switch, a control sequence, and the like, and corresponding to a previously recorded operation sound of another apparatus or an artificially generated pseudo sound and a predetermined operation. A memory 205 that stores the read audio information and the like, a phase control circuit 203 that inverts the phase of the sound signal from the operation sound detection circuit 202 and performs phase control such as synthesizing a signal read from the memory 205 with the signal.
A voice synthesis circuit 206 for generating a voice signal using voice information read from the memory 205;
A sound generator driving circuit 204 that performs processing such as amplification on an audio signal from the audio signal and a sound signal from the phase control circuit 203 to drive the sound generator 106.

When the device having the sound generating function is a device having a very small mechanical operation sound, such as a digital camera, when the shutter release operation is performed, the operation detection circuit 2
07 detects that the shutter release switch is turned on, and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the detected operation to the control circuit 201. The control circuit 201 reads out sound information stored in the memory 205, for example, data corresponding to “photographing has been completed” or the like according to the detection signal from the operation detection circuit 207, and outputs the data to the voice synthesis circuit 206. Voice synthesis circuit 2
Reference numeral 06 uses the sound information read from the memory to synthesize a corresponding sound signal, and outputs the sound signal to the sounding body drive circuit 204. The sounding body driving circuit 204 drives the sounding device 106 using the sound signal from the sound synthesizing circuit 206. As a result, the sound information such as “shooting is completed” is sounded from the sounding device 106, and the user knows that the shooting is completed.

(Fifth Embodiment) Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. Generally, sound transmission speed depends on temperature. Further, the level of the sound generated from the sound generating device 106 depends on the power supply voltage. The fifth embodiment corrects an error due to a change in an ambient temperature or a power supply voltage.

FIG. 5 shows a block configuration of a control unit according to the fifth embodiment. The control unit 200 includes a control circuit 20 such as a CPU.
1, an operation sound detection circuit 202 that performs predetermined processing such as A / D conversion on the sound signal from the sound collection device 105 and outputs the processed signal,
An operation detection circuit 207 for detecting the operation state of the apparatus from ON / OFF of an operation switch, a control sequence, and the like, and corresponding to a previously recorded operation sound of another apparatus or an artificially generated pseudo sound and a predetermined operation. A memory 205 that stores the read audio information and the like, a phase control circuit 203 that inverts the phase of the sound signal from the operation sound detection circuit 202 and performs phase control such as synthesizing a signal read from the memory 205 with the signal.
A voice synthesis circuit 206 for generating a voice signal using voice information read from the memory 205;
Sounding device driving circuit 204 for applying a process such as amplification to a sound signal from the digital camera or a sound signal from the phase control circuit 203 to drive the sounding device 106, a temperature sensor 208 for measuring the ambient temperature of the camera, and a power supply such as a battery. A voltage sensor 209 for measuring the voltage of 210 is provided.

The control circuit 201 reads the ambient temperature measured by the temperature sensor 208 and the voltage of the power supply 210 measured by the voltage sensor 2092, calculates a shift from a predetermined set temperature, and uses the calculated shift amount to calculate an amplification factor. And the amount of phase shift. As a result, even when the ambient temperature is extremely high or low compared to the set temperature, or when the voltage of the battery is low, it is possible to perform natural sound quality improvement.

In FIG. 5, the temperature sensor 208 and the voltage sensor 209 are provided in the configuration of the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 4. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the configuration shown in FIGS. A voltage sensor 209 may be provided.

(Other Embodiments) In each of the above embodiments, a still camera or a digital camera is exemplified as a device having a sound-producing function. However, the present invention is not limited to these, and a video camera, a video recorder, and other devices may be used. Needless to say, it can also be applied to

[0034]

As described above, according to the apparatus with improved sound quality of the present invention, a detection device for detecting the operation state or operation sound of the device, and a device for detecting that the device has been operated by the detection device. And a sound generating device that generates a predetermined sound, so that when the device is accompanied by a mechanical operation sound,
By generating a sound having the opposite phase to the operation sound, the operation sound can be reduced or muted. On the other hand, when the apparatus has almost no mechanical operation sound, the operation of the apparatus, for example, a shutter release operation when the apparatus is a digital camera or the like is detected, and a pseudo shutter release sound is generated, thereby allowing the user to perform the operation. Can be notified that the shooting has been performed. In addition, when the device is a relatively low-priced product, by generating operation sounds of high-end products stored in advance, it is possible to improve the sound quality of operation sounds.

Further, a sound signal generating device is further provided in the sound generating device, and the operation sound of the device itself is reduced or detected by detecting the operation sound of the device, generating a sound signal using the detected operation sound and generating a sound. It becomes possible to emphasize.

Alternatively, a memory for storing a sound signal recorded in advance and a sound signal generator for synthesizing the sound signal are further provided in the sound generator, and a sound signal is generated using the sound signal stored in advance. By generating the sound, the operation sound of another device can be output instead of the operation sound of the device itself. For example, even a low-grade model can generate a high-quality operation sound.

Further, according to the device having the operation check function of the present invention, a detecting device for detecting an operation state of the device, and a sound generating device for generating a predetermined sound when the detecting device detects that the device has operated. Since the device is equipped with the device, if the device has almost no mechanical operation sound, the operation of the device, for example, a shutter release operation when the device is a digital camera or the like is detected, and “the shooting is completed”, etc. Is generated, it is possible to notify the user that shooting has been performed.

Further, the detection device can identify a plurality of types of operations, and the sound generation device stores a plurality of audio signals respectively corresponding to the plurality of types of operations, and a voice corresponding to the operation identified by the detection device. By including a signal selection unit that selects and calls a signal from a memory and a sound generation unit that generates sound using a read sound signal, various operations of the device are notified to the user by sound. Becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an external configuration of a still camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a block configuration of a control unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a block configuration of a control unit according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a block configuration of a control unit according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a block configuration of a control unit according to a fifth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 100: camera 101: imaging lens 102: flash light emitting unit 103: light receiving unit of the photometric circuit 104: finder 105: sound collecting device 106: sound generating device 107: operation dial 108: shutter release button 200: control unit 201: control circuit 202: Operation sound detection circuit 203: Phase control circuit 204: Sound generator driving circuit 205: Memory 206: Voice synthesis circuit 207: Operation detection circuit 208: Temperature sensor 209: Voltage sensor 210: Power supply

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Takashi Kato 2-13-13 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi Inside Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Toru Kasai 2-3-3 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi No. 13 Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Chisato Kasuya 2-3-1, Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka City Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Koichi Ujiie, Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka City 3-13-13 Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Satoshi Yokota 2-3-1-13 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi F-term in Osaka International Building Minolta Co., Ltd. 2H020 MA05 MC61 MC79 MC81 2H054 AA01 BB13 5C022 AA13 AC32 AC52 AC71 AC72 5D061 FF02 5D108 CA01 CA06 CA07 CA13 CA29

Claims (7)

[Claims] An apparatus having a sound generation function comprising: a detection device for detecting an operation state or an operation sound of the device; and a sound generation device for generating a predetermined sound when the operation of the device is detected by the detection device. 2. The sound generating device according to claim 1, further comprising a sound signal generating device, detecting an operation sound of the device, generating a sound signal using the detected operation sound, and generating a sound. A device that has a pronunciation function. 3. The sound generating device further includes a memory for storing a sound signal recorded in advance, and a sound signal generating device for synthesizing the sound signal, wherein the sound signal is generated using the sound signal stored in advance. The device having a sound generating function according to claim 1, wherein the device generates a sound. 4. A device having a sound-producing function according to claim 1, wherein the sound produced by the sound-producing device is a sound for canceling the operation sound of the device. 5. A device having a sound-producing function according to claim 1, wherein the sound produced by the sound-producing device is a sound that emphasizes the operation sound of the device. 6. A detection device for detecting an operation state of the device,
A sound generation device that generates a predetermined sound when the detection device detects that the device has operated; 7. The detection device is capable of identifying a plurality of types of operations, the sound generation device is configured to store a plurality of audio signals respectively corresponding to the plurality of types of operations, and is configured to correspond to the operation identified by the detection device. 7. The apparatus having a sound generation function according to claim 6, further comprising: a signal selection unit that selects and calls a sound signal to be played from a memory; and a sound generation unit that generates a sound using the read sound signal.