JP2002257568A - Information reproducing method with smell and device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To synthesize a smell on the basis of smell information in relation to position information on a smell generating place together with the smell information, and to display the position information. SOLUTION: A radio broadcasting station 1 transmits the encoded smell information and smell generating position information together with voice information as radio broadcasting. A receiver 2 separates the received voice information, smell information, and position information, and reproduces a received voice signal. At the same time, a smell synthesizer 4 reproduces or synthesizes the smell on the basis of the received smell information. At this time, a navigation system 5 displays a map and the position on the basis of the received position information when a switch 9 is operated by a request of an operator.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an odor-transmitting information transmission system for improving the realism of information obtained from information media such as a navigation system, a television, a radio, and a video. In this specification, the odor is a stimulus emitted from an object, a fragrance or the like and felt by the nose, and includes a smell, a smell, and an odor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Information transmission has started from the transmission of information by sound of radio, and has subsequently been developed to a method of transmitting image and sound simultaneously, such as television and video. By transmitting images, information can be transmitted in a format that is extremely easy to understand. In other words, it can be said that the sense of reality of information transmission is enhanced by adding visual sense to information transmission by hearing. Generally, human senses include, in addition to hearing and sight, smell, taste, and touch, and if these can be added, information transmission with a higher sense of reality can be achieved. In addition, some media devices have increased the sense of presence by introducing vibrations that affect the sense of touch. However, the fact is that the sense of smell and taste have not been used for information transmission.

On the other hand, conventionally, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-292824
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-209, there has been proposed a pseudo odor generation method that enables a communication receiver to experience a common odor sensation with a sender by using encoded odor information. Alternatively, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-187160, a facsimile apparatus capable of emitting an odor according to a sender when image data is received has been proposed.

[0004] However, in the conventional apparatus, only the odor is transmitted and received, or only the odor corresponding to the sender is generated, and the place where the odor is generated,
It was not very useful because it was not related to land, shops, etc. For example, even if an odor such as a famous flower spot or a forest bathing land is transmitted, it is not possible to notify the place or location where the odor is occurring.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a system for displaying an image on a screen, such as a navigation system, which transmits and receives odor information together with location and position information at which the odor occurs, synthesizes the odor, and synthesizes the odor. An object of the present invention is to provide an odor-added information reproducing method and apparatus for automatically displaying position information.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for reproducing information with odor, which is an invention for achieving the above object.
An odor information reproducing method that multiplexes odor information for specifying an odor and position information for specifying a place where the odor is generated together with basic information corresponding to voice or image, and reproduces a transmitted signal. Receiving the transmitted signal, and transmitting the received signal as odor information, location information,
A step of separating into basic information, a step of generating an odor corresponding to the odor information while reproducing a voice or an image based on the basic information, and a predetermined operation switch is operated in a state where the odor is being generated. And displaying the position corresponding to the position information on the map screen.

[0007] With this, the position corresponding to the desired odor is displayed on the map screen only by operating a predetermined operation switch in a state where the odor is generated, and the position where the odor is generated and the odor are displayed. At the same time, it is easy to know.

[0008] Further, the odor information is stored in the second or third claim.
As described above, the information is the information indicating the type and concentration of a material that develops a basic odor as a basic odor.
Accordingly, it is possible to synthesize and generate an arbitrary odor with a relatively small number of basic odors without having many types of odor expression materials.

Further, the odor information and the position information are associated with each other by a trigger signal for synchronizing with the basic information. Thereby, the basic information, the odor information, and the position information can be reliably synchronized based on the trigger signal.

Next, the position information is characterized in that the position information is a map code obtained by coding a specific place as position data. By using a map code, it can be easily displayed on a map.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a route from the current position to the corresponding position is displayed by an operation of setting a position corresponding to the position signal as a destination. Thereby, the route to the position where the odor occurs can be easily known.

According to the present invention, any one of radio broadcasting by multiplex broadcasting, radio broadcasting by multiplex broadcasting, analog or digital television broadcasting using terrestrial waves or satellites, and cable television is used.
This makes it possible to prepare an environment for transmitting and receiving new odor information using an existing broadcast station or the like.

Further, according to the information reproducing apparatus with odor according to the tenth aspect, the odor information for specifying the odor and the position information for specifying the place where the odor is generated can be converted into the basic information corresponding to the voice or the image. An odor-added information reproducing apparatus that multiplexes with information and reproduces a transmitted signal,
Receiving the transmitted signal, means for separating the received signal into odor information, position information and basic information, reproducing means for reproducing voice or image based on the basic information, and generating odor corresponding to the odor information And a means for displaying a position corresponding to the position information on a map screen when a predetermined operation switch is operated in a state where the odor is being generated.

Thus, in the same manner as in the first aspect, the position corresponding to the desired odor is displayed on the map screen only by operating a predetermined operation switch while the odor is being generated, and The location of occurrence and the odor can be simultaneously and simply known.

Further, the odor generating means has a switch for switching between generation and stop of the odor. For this reason, when the operator does not want the odor synthesis, the function can be easily stopped.

Further, the odor generating means is connected to an air blowing passage of an air conditioner mounted on the vehicle and sends out the odor into the passenger compartment. As a result, the interior of the vehicle can be easily filled with odor, and a large air blower is not required in the odor synthesis section.
The size of the odor synthesizing unit can be reduced.

Further, the display means is a navigation device mounted on a vehicle for switching a map screen according to traveling. This can be realized without providing a new display device in a narrow cabin.

Further, the display means displays the route from the current position to the corresponding position by an operation of setting the position corresponding to the position signal as the destination. Thereby, similar to claim 6,
The route to the position where the odor occurs can be easily known.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [First Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

This embodiment is an odor-added information transmission system that uses FM radio multiplex broadcasting to transmit odor information and position information in synchronization with audio information and music.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a radio broadcast station, which transmits, as radio broadcast, encoded odor information and information on the position where odor occurs, together with audio information as a basic signal. Reference numeral 2 denotes a receiver for receiving a radio broadcast, which separates received audio information, odor information, and position information. Reference numeral 3 denotes a speaker which is provided integrally with the receiver 2 and reproduces a received audio signal. 4 is an odor synthesizer, integrated with the receiver,
Alternatively, it is provided separately and reproduces or synthesizes the odor based on the received odor information. A navigation system 5 displays a map and a corresponding position based on the received position information.

The radio broadcast station 1 includes an audio information section 11 for generating audio information as an analog signal, an FM modulator 12 connected to the audio information section 11 for FM-modulating the audio signal, and an odor / position information section 16. An MSK modulator 17 for MSK modulating the output odor code and map code;
A multiplexing device 18 for multiplexing and combining the modulated voice signal and another signal (odor code map code) and transmitting the multiplexed signal multiplexed by the multiplexing device 18 from the transmitting antenna 14. Transmitter 1 which amplifies to the transmitted radio wave
And 5.

The voice information section 11 uses a device that has previously recorded voice or a device that temporarily stores voice signals input from a microphone or the like. When using the recording device, a trigger signal for synchronizing with the odor signal is registered before the voice related to the odor, for example, before the "rose" utterance timing of "the fragrance of the rose is wonderful, in OO park, ...". . In the case of live broadcasting in which sound is transmitted simultaneously using a microphone, a keyword related to odor called "rose" is cut out by voice recognition, and this signal is used as a trigger signal for synchronizing with the odor signal.

In the broadcasting station 1, an odor code as an odor digital signal in which the odor to be processed is coded into a kind and a density for each basic component, or the composition ratio of the basic odor is coded, and the odor is generated. There is provided an odor / position information section 16 in which a map code as position information indicating a position of a place, a shop, a land, or the like is stored in association with the map code. The encoded odor code is coded by analyzing the components of a certain odor and associating the concentrations of the respective odors for the components A, B, C,... With a, b, c,. The map code is a code that encodes the position data of a specific place and can specify the place by a 6- to 10-digit number. For example, Ueno Zoo is 76735
7, Tokyo Tower 554627, Asahikawa Ramen Village 7
As in 940274, location and position information can be represented by points using a numeric string.

The odor / position information section 16 may receive the odor code and the map code from another database using a means such as the Internet instead of storing the information in advance.

Next, the receiver 2 will be described.

The receiver 2 is built in a navigation system mounted on a vehicle or the like for displaying a map or searching for a route to a destination. The receiver 2 converts a signal received via the antenna 21 into an audio signal and other odor signals ( Multiplexed broadcast receiver 2 for demultiplexing into odor code) and position signal (map code)
2 and an FM demodulator 23 for FM demodulating the separated audio signal
An audio amplifier 24 for amplifying the demodulated audio signal;
And a speaker 3 for reproducing the amplified signal as sound. Furthermore, the separated odor signal and the like are converted to MS
It comprises an MSK demodulator 25 for K demodulation and a converter 26 for converting the demodulated signal into an odor code and a map code.

The odor CPU 41 of the odor synthesizer 4 is connected to the converter 26, and the odor code is converted into an appropriate signal that can be odor-synthesized by the odor synthesizer 42. The odor synthesizer 4 can stop the function of odor synthesis by a switch (not shown).

Next, a specific example of the configuration of the odor synthesizer 4 is shown in FIG. Reference numeral 421 denotes an original odor cartridge group which is a basic component of odor. Here, an example in which eight types of original odor cartridges are mounted is shown. The raw odor material in the raw odor cartridge 421 is discharged in an amount specified by the odor code by the discharge device 422 provided in each cartridge. For example, if 50 kinds of original odor cartridges are built-in and the discharge amount is controlled in 10 steps, 10-5
Zero-power odors can be synthesized. The raw odor material discharged from the discharge device 422 is the vaporized plate 4 heated by the heat source 424.
The air is vaporized and vaporized on the air outlet 23, is carried out of the odor synthesizer 42 while being mixed by the wind generated by the blower 425, generates odor, and flows through an air outlet passage (not shown) of an air conditioner mounted on the vehicle. Through the air-conditioning outlet (8 in FIG. 3) of the passenger compartment, the odor is sent out into the passenger compartment.

The odor synthesizing device 4 is not limited to the above-described embodiment and is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2741749 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-292).
824) can also be used.

The navigation system 5 includes a CPU 51 which is a processor, and a display 52 which displays a map and the like and has many functions by a touch sensor provided on a screen. The CPU 51 is connected to the conversion unit 26 for converting the map code into the map code, and converts the map code into an appropriate signal that can be displayed on the navigation display 52. The display 52 has a function of displaying a map of a region corresponding to the map code or a predetermined mark (mark) indicating the position of the map code by a switch operation from a touch sensor (not shown), and a position of the map code. When it is set as a place, it has a function of searching for an appropriate route from the current position to the destination and displaying the route, arrival time, traveling distance until arrival, and the like.

Next, the operation of the information transmission system with odor will be described.

The broadcasting station 1 FM-modulates the audio signal from the audio signal section 11 by the FM modulator 12, and
8. After being amplified or frequency-converted by the transmitter 15, the signal is transmitted from the transmitting antenna 14 to the air as radio waves. At this time, the odor code and the map code are synchronized with the trigger signal included in the audio signal, and the MSK modulator 17 outputs the odor code and the map code.
The audio signal and the odor map signal are multiplexed by the K-modulation device 18 and transmitted. For example, if you are introducing the sights of cherry blossoms by voice on the radio, the odor code indicating the odor specific to cherry blossoms, the map code indicating the location and location of the sights of the cherry blossoms, and a program that introduces recommended restaurants If so, an odor code indicating the odor of a particular dish of the restaurant and a map code indicating the position of the restaurant are multiplexed with the audio signal as an odor signal and a position signal and transmitted.

The synchronization of voice information and odor information will be described. For example, in the case of the broadcast of "Song of Doremi", the odor signal of a donut is synchronized with a trigger signal registered in advance to the phrase "Do is a donut". Is transmitted in synchronization with the phrase “Le is a lemon”.

On the other hand, the receiver 2 receives the radio wave of the broadcasting station via the receiving antenna 21, and the multiplex broadcast receiver 22 converts the multiplexed signal into an audio signal and The signal is separated into the signal and the position signal.
The audio signal is demodulated by the FM demodulator 23, further amplified by the audio amplifier 24 to a power sufficient to drive the speaker 3, and reproduced by the speaker 3.

The odor signal / position signal separated from the audio signal is subjected to MSK demodulation and conversion in the MSK demodulator 25 and the conversion section 26 to reproduce the transmitted odor code / map code. The odor code is input to the odor synthesizer 4, converted into a signal of an appropriate form for synthesizing the odor by the odor CPU 41, and synthesized by the odor synthesizer 42. The map code is input to the navigation CPU 51 of the navigation device 5, and when a position display request is made by the switch 9 (FIG. 3), a map of an area or place corresponding to the map code is displayed on the display 52, and the location is displayed. When is set as the destination, the route from the current position is displayed.

For example, during an advertisement broadcast of a restaurant, sound relating to the introduction is output from the speaker 3. At this time, the odor of the food of the restaurant is generated from the odor synthesizer 4 in synchronization with the voice. Here, when the operator turns on the location guidance request switch 9, the navigation CPU sets the destination position based on the map code broadcast at that time, and automatically starts the route guidance to the restaurant. Will be. As described above, the receiver 2 is configured so that the odor is generated simultaneously with the sound, and when the switch is pressed, the location is automatically displayed. Further, depending on the broadcast content, sound and odor are automatically generated one after another, and if the operator presses a switch when the odor is desired, a location corresponding to the desired odor can be known.

In this embodiment, the FM broadcast is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be an AM broadcast or a medium-wave broadcast. Further, although the modulation scheme of the multiplexed signal is MSK modulation, the modulation scheme is not limited to this, and another modulation scheme may be used.

FIG. 3 is an example showing the concept of the structure and operation of a vehicle equipped with a navigation system.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 2 denotes the receiver 2 shown in FIG.
A radio receiver 5 having a function of 5 is a navigation system. Reference numeral 8 denotes an air-conditioning outlet, in which an odor synthesizer 4 is provided. Reference numeral 9 denotes a switch for requesting the location guidance, which can start route guidance to a point of information which has been flown when the switch is operated. By providing a function of notifying that a request for location guidance has been made by the switch 9 from a vehicle-mounted device to a specific information center, it is possible to know how many requests have been made by broadcasting. The effect can be grasped. Reference numeral 10 denotes a switch for controlling the operation / non-operation of the odor synthesizer. If the user does not want to emit the odor even after receiving the odor code broadcast, the function can be canceled by operating this switch 10.

[Second Embodiment] Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

This embodiment is an example in which television broadcasting is used instead of radio broadcasting.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a block configuration of a system for transmitting odor information and position information in synchronism with video information and audio information using television broadcasting. Reference numeral 6 denotes a television station for transmitting television broadcasts, 7 denotes a receiver for receiving television broadcasts, 4 denotes an odor synthesizer for synthesizing odors, and 5
Indicates a TV and navigation display that displays a map or the like and a TV broadcast as navigation.
It also has an audio signal playback function.

The digital odor code and map code 62 synchronized with the video / audio information 61 are converted into analog signals by a D / A converter 63 and multiplexed with the video / audio information 61 by a multiplexer 64. Is done. Further F
After being FM-modulated by the M modulator 65 and amplified or frequency-converted by the transmitter 66, it is transmitted from the transmitting antenna 67 to the air as radio waves. This is a method similar to that in which, for example, the original language audio is multiplex-broadcasted on the sub-audio channel in the Western broadcasting. On the receiving side, receiving antenna 7
After receiving the radio wave at 1 and performing amplification and frequency conversion at the multiplex broadcast receiver 72, the signal is demodulated by the FM demodulator 73. After demultiplexing the multiplexed signal in the multiplex restoration device 74, the transmitted video signal / audio signal 76
The video / audio is sent to the navigation display 52 and reproduced. The multiplexed odor code is input to the odor synthesizer 4, converted into an appropriate signal for synthesizing the odor by the odor CPU 41, and synthesized by the odor synthesizer 42. The map code is input to the navigation CPU 51, which is a processor of the navigation device 5, and when a position display request is made by the switch 9 shown in FIG. 3, the display 52 displays the position and route guidance to that position. You. That is, during the commercial broadcast of the steak restaurant, video, audio and odor are output, and when the location guidance request switch 9 is turned on, the navigation CPU sets the destination position based on the map code broadcast at that time. Then, an appropriate route to the restaurant is searched and route guidance is started. The TV screen and the navigation screen can be appropriately switched by a switch (not shown).

In the above description, analog broadcasting is assumed, but digital broadcasting may be used.

FIG. 5 shows a transmission system of a digital television broadcast. For example, content 100 such as a VTR
Receives the high-quality encoding 101 or the standard-quality encoding 102 and sends it to the multiplexer 105. Various information that is simultaneously multiplexed and transmitted is transmitted to the subtitle production device 10.
31, an odor code production device 1032 that produces odor information as a signal, a map code production device 1033 that produces position information as a signal, and a program-related information production device 103
4. Created as data by the weather information production device 1035, news index production device 1036, other data production device 1037, etc., sent to the multiplexer 105 via the accumulation buffer 103 or the real-time transmission buffer 104, and multiplexed with the VTR content 100. Be transformed into The content is combined with other contents in the TS combiner 106, modulated by the modulator 107, and transmitted from the transmitter 108.

As described above, the odor code and the map code can be multiplexed into a movie, a program, or a commercial and transmitted. On the receiving side, video information / audio information and odor information / position information can be synthesized by a digital television receiver equipped with an odor synthesizer and having the same function as in FIG. The television broadcast is not limited to terrestrial broadcast but may be satellite broadcast or cable television broadcast.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 6 shows an example of application to a subscriber service system for providing services to specific subscribers, not broadcasting to unspecified majority. A navigation system mounted on the automobile 110 is used as the information terminal 111, and communication with the outside is performed by a mobile phone. It is connected to a data center 113 via a mobile phone terminal (not shown) and a mobile phone base station 112. It provides information requested by the user from prepared menus such as road traffic information, news, weather forecast, accommodation information, restaurant information, event information, and sightseeing information. In the present embodiment, an odor is provided in addition to the information provided in such a subscriber service system.

For example, in the summer festival introduction in the event information, "the smell of burning dumplings" or "the smell of cotton candy"
"Introduction to Chinese restaurant" in restaurant information can provide "Ramen odor" at the same time.

Such a system is performed by digital communication, and is realized by appropriately inserting an odor code into an information packet. Switch 9
Is a switch for requesting a location guide. If a function for notifying the data center from the in-vehicle terminal 111 is provided when the request for the location guide is provided, it is possible to determine how many requests have been made. You can figure out. Therefore, it is possible to grasp the effect of the odor information by using the data as the base data for calculating the commercial fee and comparing the data with and without the odor information.

In this embodiment, a mobile phone is used as a communication medium. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
Other two-way communication media using wireless communication radio waves, such as T-2000, or wired two-way communication media may be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an odor-containing information transmission system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an odor synthesizer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram when the vehicle is mounted on the vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an overall block configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block configuration diagram of a television broadcast station according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of Signs] 1 Radio Broadcasting Station 2 Receiver 3 Speaker 4 Odor Combiner 5 Display

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 5/44 H04N 5/44 Z 7/08 7/08 Z 7/081 (72) Inventor Takamasa Suzuki Aichi 1-chome, Showa-cho, Kariya-shi, Japan F-term in DENSO Corporation (reference) 2C032 HB05 HB23 HB25 HC01 HC02 HC08 HC14 HC16 HC27 HC31 HD04 HD16 2F029 AA02 AB13 AC02 AC09 AC14 AC18 5C025 BA25 CA09 DA01 DA04 DA10 5C063 AB01 AB01 CA23 CA31 DA03 5H180 AA01 BB01 BB05 CC12 EE18 FF05 FF13 FF22 FF25 FF32

Claims (14)

[The claims] 1. An odor information for multiplexing odor information for specifying an odor and position information for specifying a place where the odor is generated together with basic information corresponding to voice or image, and reproducing a transmitted signal. An information reproducing method, comprising: receiving the transmitted signal; separating the received signal into odor information, position information, and basic information; and reproducing a sound or an image based on the basic information, Generating a smell corresponding to the odor information, and displaying a position corresponding to the position information on a map screen when a predetermined operation switch is operated while the odor is being generated. A method for reproducing information with odor, characterized in that: 2. The method for reproducing information with odor according to claim 1, wherein the odor information is information indicating a type of a material exhibiting a basic odor as a basic odor and a concentration thereof. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, in the step of generating the odor, an arbitrary odor is synthesized and generated by vaporizing the material exhibiting the basic odor based on the odor information. Information reproduction method with odor. 4. The method for reproducing information with odor according to claim 1, wherein the odor information and the position information are associated by a trigger signal for synchronizing with the basic information. 5. The method for reproducing information with odor according to claim 1, wherein the position information is a map code obtained by coding a specific place as position data. 6. When displaying a position corresponding to the position information on a map screen, displaying a route from a current position to the corresponding position by an operation of setting a position corresponding to the position signal as a destination. The method for reproducing information with odor according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: 7. The method for reproducing odor-added information according to claim 1, wherein the transmitted signal is a signal used in radio broadcasting by multiplex broadcasting. 8. The information with odor according to claim 1, wherein the transmitted signal is a signal used in analog or digital television broadcasting using terrestrial waves or satellites. Playback method. 9. The method for reproducing information with odor according to claim 1, wherein the transmitted signal is a signal used in a cable television. 10. An odor analyzer for multiplexing odor information for specifying an odor and position information for specifying a place where the odor is generated, together with basic information corresponding to voice or image, and reproducing a transmitted signal. An information reproducing apparatus, comprising: a unit that receives the transmitted signal, and separates the received signal into odor information, position information, and basic information; and a reproducing unit that reproduces audio or an image based on the basic information. An odor generating means for generating an odor corresponding to the odor information; and displaying a position corresponding to the position information on a map screen when a predetermined operation switch is operated while the odor is being generated. Means for reproducing information with odor. 11. The information reproducing apparatus with odor according to claim 10, wherein said odor generating means has a switch for switching between generation and stop of odor. 12. The odor generating device according to claim 10, wherein said odor generating means is connected to an air blowing passage of an air conditioner mounted on the vehicle, and sends out the odor into the vehicle interior. Information reproducing device. 13. The navigation device according to claim 10, wherein the means for displaying a position corresponding to the position information on a map screen is a navigation device mounted on a vehicle and switching a map screen according to traveling. 13. The information reproducing apparatus with odor according to any one of 12 above. 14. A means for displaying a position corresponding to the position signal on a map screen displays an route from a current position to the corresponding position by an operation of setting a position corresponding to the position signal as a destination. 14. The odor-added information reproducing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein: