JP2007057837A - Karaoke machine capable of restarting musical performance from beginning of musical piece - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a karaoke machine capable of restarting a musical performance of a musical piece speedily from the beginning when a singer who fails to start singing operates a switch of a microphone that the singer uses without moving from his or her current singing place. <P>SOLUTION: The karaoke machine has a playing means, a wireless microphone, a receiving means, and a control means. The playing means plays karaoke musical piece data under the control of the control means and the wireless microphone has the switch for turning ON and OFF the operation of a transmitting means; and the receiving means supplies a singing signal demodulated from a received signal of the wireless microphone to an amplifier and also outputs a state signal indicating whether there is the receiving signal or not and the control means makes the playing means start playing the karaoke musical piece data from the beginning and also restart playing the musical piece from the beginning again if the state signal changes from reception of the received signal to non-reception within a specified period. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a karaoke apparatus capable of re-sending a command by operating a switch of a microphone used by a singer and restarting the performance from the beginning of the music.

  As is well known, a re-sing button is provided on the main body and the remote control of the karaoke apparatus. When singing to karaoke accompaniment music, it is difficult to match the timing of singing unless you are used to singing to some extent. For this reason, singing is often delayed or missed at the beginning of singing. At that time, if the re-sing button is pressed, the performance of the song is interrupted and the performance is resumed from the beginning of the song. However, in many karaoke apparatuses, a re-sung command is not accepted after a certain time of about 30 seconds from the start of the performance of a song.

  The singer is not always singing in a situation where the re-singing button can be operated immediately. If you are away from the main unit of the karaoke device, there is no remote control nearby, or someone else is using the remote control, you can't do it right away.

The karaoke apparatus according to the first invention is specified by the following items (1) to (5).
(1) The karaoke apparatus is provided with a performance means, a wireless microphone, a reception means, and a control means. (2) The performance means plays karaoke music data according to the control of the control means. (3) The wireless microphone is (4) The receiving means supplies a singing voice signal demodulated from the reception signal of the wireless microphone to the amplifier and outputs a status signal indicating the presence or absence of the reception signal (5) The control means causes the performance means to start playing the karaoke music data from the beginning, and when the status signal changes from the presence or absence of the reception signal within a predetermined period, to cause the music to start playing from the beginning again.

The karaoke apparatus according to the second invention is specified by the following items (21) to (25).
(21) The karaoke apparatus is provided with a performance means, a wired microphone, a microphone interface, and a control means. (22) The performance means plays karaoke music data according to the control of the control means. (23) The wired microphone outputs a microphone. (24) The microphone interface supplies the singing voice signal from the wired microphone to the amplifier and detects the on / off status of the microphone based on the cable termination status. (25) The control means causes the performance means to start playing the karaoke music data from the beginning, and when it is detected that the microphone has changed from on to off within a predetermined period, the music means starts to play the music again from the beginning. thing

  According to the karaoke apparatus of the present invention, the microphone switch can be re-sung and used as a command input means without any modification to the existing karaoke microphone.

=== Configuration and basic functions of karaoke equipment ===
FIG. 1 is a functional block configuration of a karaoke apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a wireless microphone is attached. In this configuration, the hard disk device 12 generates MIDI-formatted music data that is the origin of accompaniment music and lyrics image generation sequences (lyric character strings and their display order, lyric character color change tying, etc.) for a large number of karaoke songs. The lyric rendering data described, the long-term video data in a predetermined format, and the script data defining the video data processing sequence (storage location and processing order of video data to be processed, etc.) are accumulated, and this karaoke apparatus as a computer body The central control unit 11 that performs overall control uses karaoke data as a data set composed of music data and lyrics caption generation data, and associates karaoke data and separately prepared script data with unique music numbers. I manage.

  When the user inputs the music number of the requested music by the remote control transmitter 22 and gives a reservation instruction, a performance reservation command including the music number is transmitted from the remote control transmitter 22. The operation control unit 13 transfers the music number included in the performance reservation command received via the light receiving unit 15 or the music number input on the operation panel 14 to the central control unit 11. The central control unit 11 stores the music number in an internal RAM and manages it in a performance processing queue. Then, the music numbers are sequentially extracted from the queue, the corresponding karaoke data is read from the hard disk device 12 and expanded in the work area of the RAM, and the music performance process is started.

  The central control unit 11 transfers the music data to the synthesizer 19 to generate accompaniment music, and also processes the lyric rendering data to develop a lyric image in which the portion to be sung changes color in the video RAM 16 sequentially. Also, predetermined moving image data is sequentially transferred to the video controller 17 in a predetermined order based on the script data, and the background moving image of the lyrics image is decoded.

  The wireless microphone 30 includes a power switch, and transmits radio waves having a predetermined carrier frequency when the user operates the switch to turn on the power. In this state, when sound is input to the microphone, the sound is converted into a singing voice signal through acoustoelectric conversion, and the singing voice signal is FM-modulated. Then, the modulated signal is wirelessly transmitted by a carrier wave. The wireless microphone receiver 22 tunes to the carrier frequency of the radio signal from the wireless microphone 30, extracts and demodulates the modulated signal, and outputs a singing voice signal. The mixing amplifier 20 mixes and amplifies the audio signal of the accompaniment music from the synthesizer 19 and the singing voice signal from the wireless microphone receiver 22 and outputs the sound from the speaker 21. The video control unit 17 superimposes the lyric image on the decoded moving image and outputs it on the display 18.

=== Replay function ===
In addition to the basic functions described above, the karaoke apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has a replay function that restarts the performance of the accompaniment music from the beginning within a predetermined period after the performance of the music is started. In addition, the replay function of the present embodiment can be activated only by operating the power switch of the wireless microphone in a predetermined procedure without operating the karaoke apparatus body or the remote control transmitter. The wireless microphone receiver has a configuration for realizing a replay function.

  FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic configuration of the wireless microphone receiving unit 22. The wireless microphone receiving unit 22 is configured by a microcomputer, a DSP, or the like, and receives a microphone reception control unit 23 that performs overall control of the microphone receiving unit 22, an antenna 24 that receives a radio signal from the wireless microphone 30, and an antenna 24. A tuning unit 25 that tunes to the carrier frequency of the received radio signal, a reception signal detection unit 26 that detects whether or not a carrier wave having a frequency set in the tuning unit 25 is received, and detection / demodulation of the tuned carrier wave And a detector / demodulator 27 for outputting an audio signal. The microphone reception control unit 23 controls the tuning unit 25 and the detection / demodulation unit 27 to output the singing voice signal of the singer from the radio signal from the wireless microphone 30 to the mixing amplifier 20, and at the reception signal detection unit 26. A reception state signal corresponding to whether or not a carrier wave is detected is generated and transferred to the central control unit 11.

  When the central control unit 11 starts playing the karaoke music piece, the central control unit 11 monitors the output state of the reception state signal from the wireless microphone reception unit 22. In addition, the central control unit 11 stores a replay permission period permitting activation of the replay function in its own ROM, and the reception status signal is received within the replay permission period after the performance of the music is started. When it changes from being present to not being played, the music is played again from the beginning. That is, when the singer wants to start the performance again from the beginning due to failure to sing, the power switch of the wireless microphone 30 may be turned on and turned off. If the power switch is already on at the beginning of the music performance, the power switch may be turned off.

  Note that the re-permission permission period may be, for example, uniformly within a predetermined time from the start of the performance, or until a predetermined time elapses after the singing timing of the song. As for the singing start timing, identification information indicating the timing may be attached to the music data.

  Thus, according to the karaoke apparatus of this embodiment, even if the singer fails to start singing, the singer can operate the microphone switch he / she is using without moving from the place where he / she is currently singing. So, you can quickly play the music again from the beginning.

=== About wired microphones ===
The replay function can be applied not only to a wireless microphone but also to a wired microphone. A karaoke device equipped with a replay function compatible with wired microphones has a microphone interface for connecting the cable from the wired microphone and inputting the audio signal from the wired microphone to the mixing amplifier instead of the wireless microphone receiver. I have.

  FIG. 3 shows the internal circuit of the wired microphone and the functional block configuration of the microphone interface. The wired microphone 30b is a dynamic microphone, and as is well known, a plug 32 is provided at the tip of the cable 31, and there is a switch 35 for switching and connecting the electrode of the plug 32 to the moving coil 33 and the terminating resistor 34.

  On the other hand, the microphone interface 40 includes a connector 41 that is connected to the plug 32 at the tip of the cable 31 of the wired microphone 30b. When the switch 35 of the wired microphone 30b is set to the on side 36, the microphone 41 receives audio input to the microphone. A corresponding signal is input from the moving coil 33. The audio signal from the wired microphone 30 b is level-adjusted by the preamplifier 42, then output externally and input to the mixing amplifier 20.

  Further, when the switch 35 of the wired microphone 30b is set to the off side 37, the termination resistor 34 is connected between the electrodes of the plug 32. The termination connection detector 43 measures the resistance value between the electrodes of the plug 32 connected to the connector 41 to detect whether the switch 35 is on the on side 36 or off side 37. If the distance between the electrodes of the plug 32 is a predetermined resistance value corresponding to the termination resistance value, it is detected that the switch 35 is on the off side 37. Then, a termination connection state signal corresponding to whether the switch 35 is turned on or off is transferred to the central control unit 11. When playing the karaoke music piece, the central control unit 11 starts playing the music piece from the beginning if the terminal connection state signal from the microphone interface 40 changes from the on state to the off state within the re-permitted permission period. Start again.

  In the above embodiment, the microphone switch is directly connected to the end of the microphone cable, but the microphone switch can be indirectly involved. For example, in the case of a wired microphone using a passive element such as an electret condenser microphone, a microphone amplifier circuit must be interposed, and in that case, the microphone switch is turned on and off when the microphone amplifier is not used. Try to reduce battery consumption. The end of the microphone cable is connected to the output of the microphone amplifier. Even in such a form, by measuring the termination resistance value of the microphone cable, it is possible to detect whether the microphone is turned on or off by the microphone switch. That is, as is well known, the output resistance of the amplifier circuit is extremely low when the power is on and extremely high when the power is off. Therefore, the termination connection detection unit 43 can transfer a signal indicating that the microphone switch is on or off to the central control unit 11 by measuring the resistance value between the electrodes of the plug 32.

  If the termination resistance 34 in the case of the dynamic microphone is set to a high resistance value, the standard for determining whether the microphone is turned on or off from the measured resistance value can be shared with the case of the electret condenser microphone. That is, the microphone is on when it is lower than the predetermined resistance value and off when it is high.

It is a functional block diagram of the karaoke apparatus in the Example of this invention. It is a functional block diagram of the wireless microphone receiving part which comprises the said karaoke apparatus. It is a functional block diagram of the wired microphone and microphone interface with which the karaoke apparatus in the other Example of this invention is provided.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Karaoke apparatus 11 Central control part 12 Hard disk drive 19 Synthesizer 20 Mixing amplifier 22 Wireless microphone receiving part 30 Wireless microphone
30b Wired microphone 40 Microphone interface

Claims (2)

A karaoke apparatus comprising a performance means, a wireless microphone, a reception means, and a control means,
The performance means plays the karaoke music data according to the control of the control means,
The wireless microphone has a switch for turning on and off the operation of the transmission means,
The reception means supplies a singing voice signal demodulated from the reception signal of the wireless microphone to the amplifier, and outputs a state signal indicating the presence or absence of the reception signal,
The control means causes the performance means to start the performance of the karaoke music data from the beginning, and when the status signal changes from the presence or absence of the received signal within a predetermined period, the karaoke apparatus starts the performance of the music again from the beginning. A karaoke apparatus comprising a performance means, a wired microphone, a microphone interface, and a control means,
The performance means plays the karaoke music data according to the control of the control means,
The wired microphone has a switch that turns on and off the microphone output and changes the termination state of the cable connected to the microphone interface.
The microphone interface supplies the singing voice signal from the wired microphone to the amplifier, detects the on / off state of the microphone based on the termination state of the cable,
The control means causes the performance means to start playing the karaoke music data from the beginning, and when it is detected that the microphone has changed from on to off within a predetermined period, the karaoke apparatus starts the music from the beginning again.

Images