JP2008017126A - Voice conference system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a voice conference system of simple constitution that enables respective members of a conference to securely listen to a speaker when the conference is held in a wide conference room. <P>SOLUTION: Respective voice conference devices 1A to 1D pick up utterances of corresponding members 200A to 200H of the conference, generate picked-up voice signals SsA to SsD, and transmit them a conference voice controller 2. The conference voice controller 2 sets a gain which increase in accordance with distances between the voice conference devices, adjusts gains of the picked-up voice signals SsA to SsD and mixes them into output voice signals SdA to SdD, which are transmitted. The voice conference devices 1A to 1D excluding the device of the speaker sound the received output voice signals SdA to SdD toward the respective members 200 of the conference. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  This invention arranges a plurality of voice conference apparatuses each having a microphone and a speaker in a predetermined space such as the same room, and performs voice communication between the plurality of voice conference apparatuses with each other. The present invention relates to an audio conference system to be realized.

  Various audio conference systems used when a conference is held in a large space such as a large conference room or conference hall are disclosed.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a presentation system in which a microphone is installed in a speaker seat and a microphone and a speaker are installed in other conference seats. In this system, the sound output level is set according to the distance between each microphone and the speaker, and the sound output signal given to each speaker is attenuated and emitted according to the set level.

  Patent Document 2 discloses an audio facility in which a microphone and a speaker are installed at a speaker seat, and a speaker is installed at each audience seat. In this audio equipment, a propagation delay time of the live sound based on the distance between the speaker's microphone and each speaker's speaker is set in advance, and the sound from each speaker's speaker is set according to this propagation delay time. Delay sound emission.

With such a configuration, in the audio conference system described in these patent documents, the volume and the delay amount are controlled according to the distance between the speaker and the listener. Audio can be provided at approximately the same level.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-312098 JP 2004-104210 A

  However, in each of the above-described prior arts, since the speaker and the microphone are individually installed for each of the above-described speakers (speakers) and listeners, the system is significantly large when there are many conference persons. End up. Also, if the number of participants increases during the meeting, microphones and speakers cannot be easily installed for the participants, and the participants are seated at a place far away from the speaker. Will not be able to hear the voice of the speaker.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to perform an audio conference without being affected by the number of conference participants when a conference is performed in a large conference room, and to ensure that each conference participant listens to the voice of the speaker. This is to realize a voice conferencing system that can be used with a simple configuration.

  It is another object of the present invention to realize an audio conference system with a simple configuration that can surely listen to a speaker's voice and participate in the conference regardless of the position and timing of the conference.

  The audio conference system according to the present invention includes a plurality of sound collecting means for realizing a plurality of sound collecting directivities different from each other and a sound emitting means for realizing a plurality of sound emitting directivities different from each other, and a plurality of sound emitting means arranged in a predetermined pattern. A conference sound control unit that receives sound pickup signals from the plurality of sound conference devices and generates a sound emission signal having an adjustment volume according to a distance from the sound conference device that has generated the sound pickup signals; It is characterized by having.

In this configuration, each audio conference device individually collects the utterance sound of each conference person present in the vicinity of its own device and emits it individually to each conference participant. The conference sound control means mixes the collected sound signals input from the respective audio conference devices and outputs individual sound emission signals for each audio conference device. At this time, the sound emission signal for each audio conference device is sent by the conference sound control means to the distance from the audio conference device that is the input source of the sound collection signal (hereinafter, the sound collection source audio conference device) to each audio conference device. Accordingly, the signal level is set to be higher. As a result, even if the listener is far away from the speaker in a large conference room, the speaker's voice can be heard reliably, and the speaker's voice can be greatly released to the speaker. Since no sound is generated, it is possible to eliminate a sense of incongruity for the speaker and prevent howling.
Furthermore, since each voice conference device is equipped with a sound emission function and a sound collection function, when sound is collected by two voice conference devices at the same time, the distance from each sound source voice conference device Accordingly, since the signal level of the sound emission signal of the other audio conference apparatus is set and mixed, it is possible to realize conference audio that can be listened to by all the conference parties reliably and more realistic.
In addition, the audio conference apparatus of the audio conference system according to the present invention includes a microphone array composed of a plurality of microphones, a speaker array composed of a plurality of speakers, and a conference party orientation detection that detects a conference party orientation based on sound collected by the plurality of microphones. And a plurality of different meeting party orientations detected by the meeting party orientation detection means, by controlling the sound emission to be given to a plurality of speakers, the individual sound emitting direction for each meeting party direction simultaneously. It is characterized by emitting sound by sex.

  In this configuration, when the conference direction detection unit detects the location of the conference, the sound collection directivity and sound emission directivity that are strong in the conference direction are set. Thereby, the S / N ratio of the voice from the conference direction, that is, the utterance sound when the conference person is the speaker, the sound toward the conference direction, that is, the sound output sound when the conference person is the listener is high. Become. Further, even when a plurality of conference persons are present in one audio conference apparatus, it is possible to emit and collect individual sounds for each conference party. Note that even if the conference direction is detected by an operation switch, etc., a sound collection beam signal is formed in each direction by performing a delay process on the collected signal obtained by collecting the voice of the conference by each microphone of the microphone array. However, it may be detected at the signal level. In addition, if this conference direction detection continues to function continuously or at predetermined timing intervals during a conference, it will be possible to ensure that the speaker's direction is maintained even if a new conference participant is added or the conference party moves during the conference. It is possible to listen to the uttered sound or pick up the speech of this new conference person.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize an audio conference system with a simple configuration in which each conference person can surely hear the voice of a speaker when a conference is performed in a conference room consisting of a large space. At this time, since each voice conference device has a plurality of sound emission and collection directivities, each conference person can listen to the voice of the speaker individually even if a plurality of people are present at each voice conference device. Can do.

  Further, according to the present invention, each voice conference device detects the conference direction, so that the voice of the speaker can be surely heard regardless of the position and timing of the conference.

An audio conference system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the audio conference system according to the present embodiment. In this figure, two audio conference apparatuses are present in each audio conference apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing communication wiring of the audio conference system according to the present embodiment. In this figure, a case where four audio conference apparatuses are connected is shown.
Although the present embodiment shows a case where there are four audio conference apparatuses, the number is not limited to this number, and the number of installed devices may be set as appropriate based on the size of the conference room and the specifications of the participants.
As shown in FIG. 1, the audio conference system according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of audio conference apparatuses 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> D arranged in a conference room 100 having a large space such as a large conference room. The plurality of audio conference apparatuses 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> D are formed with the same specifications and have a long shape. The audio conference apparatuses 1A to 1D are arranged on the long desk 101 in a straight line parallel to the direction in which the long desk 101 extends, and the long direction of the voice conference apparatuses 1A to 1D and the extension direction of the long desk 101 are parallel to each other. It is arranged to be.

  In each of the audio conference apparatuses 1A to 1D, two conference members 200A to 200H are present, and an audio conference is performed using the corresponding audio conference apparatuses 1A to 1D. Specifically, the conference members 200A and 200E are present in the audio conference device 1A, the conference members 200B and 200F are present in the audio conference device 1B, and the conference members 200C and 200G are present in the audio conference device 1C. Conference members 200D and 200H are present in the conference apparatus 1D. In the description of this embodiment, an example in which two conference members 200 are present for one audio conference device 1 is shown. However, three or more conference members are simultaneously present in one audio conference device. May be present.

  As shown in FIG. 2, each of the audio conference apparatuses 1A to 1D and the conference audio control apparatus 2 are connected by a LAN or the like. Each of the audio conference apparatuses 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> D collects the speech of the conference participants 200 </ b> A to 200 </ b> H who are present at the own apparatus, generates collected audio signals SsA to SsD, and transmits them to the conference audio control apparatus 2. The conference voice control device 2 mixes the collected voice signals SsA to SsD with different mixing ratios for the voice conference devices 1A to 1D, and generates sound emission voice signals SdA to SdD for the voice conference devices 1A to 1D. And transmitted to each of the audio conference apparatuses 1A to 1D. Each of the audio conference apparatuses 1A to 1D emits the received sound emission audio signals SdA to SdD toward the occupants 200A to 200H. In this case, a detailed setting example of the mixing ratio will be described later. However, conceptually, (1) it does not include a large amount of the collected sound signal of its own device, and (2) the audio conference device that collects sound and the audio conference device that collects sound The sound output sound signals SdA to SdD are generated based on the point that the collected sound signal is amplified by a gain corresponding to the distance to the apparatus.

  If the conference audio control device 2 is connected to the conference audio control device 2 of the audio conference system outside the conference room 100 via a network or the like, the collected audio signal SsA is sent to the other audio conference system. ~ SsD mixed at the same level to generate and transmit an external output audio signal SdO, and an external input audio signal SsO from another audio conference system is mixed into the collected audio signals SsA to SsD to each audio conference device Send to 1A-1D.

  Next, the configuration and processing of the audio conference device 1 (1A to 1D) and the conference audio control device 2 configuring the audio conference system of the present embodiment will be described more specifically.

FIG. 3 is a three-side view of the audio conference apparatuses 1A to 1D of the present embodiment, in which (A) and (C) are side views, and (B) is a bottom view.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of the audio conference apparatuses 1A to 1D of the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 3, the audio conference device 1 (1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> D) of the present embodiment mechanically includes a housing 112, a leg 113, and an operation unit 114.
The casing 112 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is elongated in one direction, and has a predetermined height that separates the lower surface of the casing 112 from the installation surface at a predetermined interval at both ends of the long side (surface) of the casing 112. Legs 113 are installed. In the following description, of the four side surfaces of the housing 112, a long surface is referred to as a long surface, and a short surface is referred to as a short surface. As shown in FIG. 1, voice conference apparatuses 1A to 1D are arranged along the long surface.

  An operation unit 114 including a plurality of buttons and a display screen is installed at one end of the upper surface of the housing 112 in the long direction. These operation units 114 are connected to the main control unit 10 installed in the housing 112, receive operation inputs from conference participants, output them to the main control unit 10, and display operation contents and execution modes on a display screen. indicate.

  Although not shown, various input / output interface terminals such as a network connection terminal are installed on the short surface of the housing 112 on the side where the operation unit 114 is installed, and the audio conference device is provided via the network connection terminal. 1 (1A to 1D) is connected to the conference voice control apparatus 2 via a LAN or the like.

  Speakers SP <b> 1 to SP <b> 16 having the same shape are installed on the lower surface of the housing 112. These speakers SP1 to SP16 are installed in a straight line at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction, thereby constituting a speaker array. On one long surface of the housing 112, microphones MIC101 to MIC116 having the same shape are installed. These microphones MIC101 to MIC116 are installed in a straight line at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction, thereby forming a microphone array. In addition, microphones MIC201 to MIC216 having the same shape are also installed on the other long surface of the casing 112. These microphones MIC201 to MIC216 are also installed in a straight line at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction, thereby forming a microphone array. On the lower surface side of the housing 112, a lower surface grill (not shown) formed in a shape covering the speaker array and the microphone array and punch meshed is installed. In this embodiment, the number of speakers in the speaker array is 16 and the number of microphones in each microphone array is 16. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of speakers and the number of microphones may be set as appropriate according to the specifications. That's fine.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the audio conference apparatuses 1 </ b> A to 1 </ b> D functionally include a main control unit 10, a communication control unit 11, a sound emission control unit 12, a D / A converter 13, a sound emission amplifier (AMP) 14, a receiver. A sound amplifier (AMP) 15, an A / D converter 16, a sound collection control unit 17, an echo cancellation unit 18, a remote control transmission / reception unit 19, an operation unit 114, speakers SP1 to SP16, microphones MIC101 to MIC116, and MIC201 to MIC216 are provided.

  The main control unit 10 performs overall control of the audio conference apparatus, and also performs control such as power on / off input from the operation unit 114, and various control of other signal processing systems.

  When the attendee 200 operating the remote controller 120 and accepting the conference participation information via the remote control transmission / reception unit 19, the main control unit 10 detects the orientation of the conference 200 from the direction of the accepted remote controller 120. The main control unit 10 sets a sound emission directivity having a strong directivity in the direction of the conference 200 based on the detected azimuth and gives it to the sound emission control unit 12.

  The communication control unit 11 receives the sound output audio signal Sd from the conference audio control device 2 connected via the LAN, converts the communication format data into a general audio signal, and sets the echo cancellation unit 18 to To the sound emission control unit 12.

  In addition, the communication control unit 11 converts the collected sound signal Ss output from the echo cancellation unit 18 into a communication format and transmits the communication format to the conference sound control device 2.

  The sound emission control unit 12 performs a delay process, an amplitude process, and the like on the input sound emission sound signal Sd based on the sound emission directivity given from the main control unit 10 to be present Sound emission signals corresponding to the speakers SP1 to SP16 are generated so as to form a sound emission beam having strong directivity in the direction of 200.

  Each D / A converter 13 performs digital-analog conversion on the input sound emission signal and applies it to each sound emission amplifier 14, and each sound emission amplifier 14 amplifies the analog sound emission signal to produce each speaker. Give to SP1-SP16. Each speaker SP1-SP16 converts the input electric sound emission signal into a sound and emits the sound.

  The microphones MIC101 to MIC116 and MIC201 to MIC216 collect ambient sounds including utterances from the conference person 200 present in the apparatus, convert them into electrical sound collection signals, and supply them to the sound collection amplifier 15. The sound collection amplifier 15 amplifies the sound collection signal and applies it to the A / D converter 16, and the A / D converter 16 converts the analog sound collection signal into a digital signal and outputs it to the sound collection control unit 17.

  The sound collection control unit 17 performs a delay process or the like on the sound collection signals of the microphones MIC101 to MIC116 and MIC201 to MIC216, and generates a plurality of sound collection beam signals having strong directivities in different directions. The sound collection control unit 17 compares the amplitudes of the generated sound collection beam signals in the respective directions, selects the sound collection beam signal MB having the largest amplitude, and outputs it to the echo cancellation unit 18. At this time, if the conference person 200 speaks, a sound collection beam signal having strong directivity in the direction of the conference person 200 is selected. For this reason, this azimuth | direction information may be given to the main control part 10, and the main control part 10 may set sound emission directivity based on this azimuth | direction information. Conversely, using the fact that the direction information is input from the conference person 200 by remote control as described above, only a sound collecting beam signal having directivity in the direction is formed, or a predetermined azimuth angle including the direction is set. The sound collection beam signal may be formed only within the range, and selection by amplitude may be performed.

  The echo cancellation unit 18 includes an adaptive filter and a post processor. The adaptive filter generates a pseudo regression sound signal based on the sound emission sound signal Sd. The post processor subtracts the pseudo regression sound signal of the sound emission sound signal Sd from the sound collection beam signal MB output from the sound collection control unit 17 and outputs the subtracted sound signal Ss to the communication control unit 11. Thereby, the wraparound sound from the speaker SP to the microphone MIC is suppressed.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of the conference voice control apparatus 2 of the present embodiment.
The conference voice control device 2 includes a CPU 21, a memory 22, and a mixer 23.
The CPU 21 performs overall control of the conference audio control device 2 and reads the mixing ratio and delay time for each of the sound output audio signals SdA to SdD from the memory 22 based on the collected audio signals SsA to SsD and gives them to the mixer 23.
The memory 22 stores a mixing ratio and a delay time ratio of the collected sound signals SsA to SsD with respect to the emitted sound signals SdA to SdD.
FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating the relationship of gain G of each collected sound signal SsA to SsD when each sound output sound signal SdA to SdD is configured, and FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating each sound output sound signal SdA to SdA to SdA. It is a figure which shows the relationship of the delay time T of each sound-collected audio | voice signal SsA-SsD at the time of comprising SdD.
As shown in FIG. 6A, the gain G of each of the collected sound signals SsA to SsD, which is a mixing element, is set in advance for each of the emitted sound signals SdA to SdD. This gain G is set so as to increase in accordance with the distance from the audio conference device that is the sound output destination. The distance from the audio conference apparatus 1A is (1) the audio conference apparatus 1B, (2) the audio conference apparatus 1C, and (4) the audio conference apparatus 1D in the order of replacement. Therefore, the gain of the collected voice signal SsB of the voice conference apparatus 1B is G1, the gain of the collected voice signal SsC of the voice conference apparatus 1C is G3, and the voice conference apparatus 1D is set to the sound output voice signal SdA of the voice conference apparatus 1A. Is set so that G1 <G3 <G5, where G5 is the gain of the collected sound signal SsD. These gains G1, G3, and G5 are set so that the volume levels of the collected sound signals SsB to SsD after gain adjustment are substantially the same. Further, the collected voice signal from the voice conference device that is the sound output destination is set so as not to be included in the mixing element (corresponding to gain G = “0”).
Note that the collected sound signal from the voice conference device that is the sound output destination may be included in the mixing element. In this case, the collected voice signal is mixed at a volume level smaller than that of the collected voice signal obtained by another voice conference apparatus. That is, assuming that the gain at this time is G0, 0 <G0 << G1. As a result, the collected voice signal of the device is reproduced (sounded) at a very small level from the voice conference device of the sound emitting destination. This is not for the purpose of loud sound but for the purpose of monitoring the voice of the speaker. By playing at such a low volume level, it is possible to support the natural conversation of the speaker while preventing howling. it can.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the delay time T of each of the collected sound signals SsA to SsD serving as a mixing element is set in advance for each of the emitted sound signals SdA to SdD. This delay time T is set so as to increase in accordance with the distance from the voice conference device that is the sound output destination. More specifically, the delay time of the collected audio signal SsB of the audio conference apparatus 1B is T1 and the delay time of the collected audio signal SsC of the audio conference apparatus 1C is T3 with respect to the sound output audio signal SdA of the audio conference apparatus 1A. The delay time of the collected audio signal SsD of the audio conference apparatus 1D is set to be T1 <T3 <T5, where T5 is the delay time. The delay times T1, T3, and T5 correspond to the collected sound signals SsB to SsD included in the sound output sound signal SdA that is emitted after the delay process, and to the sound collection sound signals SsB to SsD. It is set so that the live voices of the conference participants 200B to 200D and 200F to 200H of the audio conference apparatuses 1B to 1D reach the conference person 200A who is present in the audio conference apparatus 1A at the same time.
By the way, the gain G and the delay time T may be set by measuring and inputting the distance between apparatuses when the apparatus is installed.

  The mixer 23 mixes the collected sound signals SsA to SsD received from each of the audio conference apparatuses 1A to 1D based on the gain G and the delay time T given from the CPU 21, and generates the emitted sound signals SdA to SdD. . More specifically, the mixer 23 uses the gain G and the delay time T set for each of the emitted sound signals SdA to SdD, and the corresponding gain G and delay time T for each of the collected sound signals SsA to SsD. And the sound pickup audio signals SsA to SsD after the multiplication are added. The mixer 23 transmits these sound emission audio signals SdA to SdD to the audio conference apparatuses 1A to 1D.

  By setting the gain and mixing in this way, regardless of the distance between the conferences (between the audio conference devices), no matter which conferencer speaks, all the conference participants who are listeners The utterance sound can be emitted with the same volume.

  Furthermore, since the delay time is set and mixed in this way, each conference person speaks without being affected by the distance between the conference parties (between the audio conference apparatuses). The voice of the speaker and the sound emitted from the audio conference device can be simultaneously given to the conference person.

  At this time, if each of the audio conference apparatuses 1A to 1D is connected to an external audio conference apparatus via a network, the external audio conference apparatus receives the collected audio signals SsA to SsD at the same level of gain. The external output audio signal SdO adjusted and added in (1) is transmitted. On the other hand, when an external input audio signal SsO is received from an external audio conference apparatus, an appropriate gain is set and the collected audio signals SsA to SsD are added to the emitted audio signals SdA to SdD, respectively, mixed at a predetermined mixing ratio. . Accordingly, it is possible to realize an audio conference with an external audio conference device while maintaining the above-described sound emission and collection environment.

Next, the function will be described by setting a specific situation and referring to the drawing.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a situation where only the conference person 200A speaks. In FIG. 7, the broken line indicates the collected sound, and the solid line indicates the emitted sound. SsX (Gm, Tn) indicates a signal obtained by adjusting the collected sound signal SsX with the gain Gm and the delay time Tn.
As shown in FIG. 7, when the voice conference apparatus 1A picks up the speech of the conference person 200A, a voice pickup voice signal SsA is generated. The audio conference device 1A transmits the collected audio signal SsA to the conference audio control device 2, and the conference audio control device 2 generates sound output audio signals SdA to SdD based on the collected audio signal SsA, and each audio conference device Send to 1A-1D. At this time, the conference audio control apparatus 2 generates sound emission audio signals SdA to SdD using the gain G and the delay time T set according to the above-described criteria. Each of the audio conference apparatuses 1A to 1D receives and emits sound output sound signals SdA to SdD.
Specifically, the audio conference apparatus 1A emits a 0-level emitted sound signal SdA or detects a signal level (0 level) and does not emit sound. The voice conference apparatus 1B emits a sound emission voice signal SdB = SsA (G1, T1) whose gain and delay are adjusted. The audio conference apparatus 1 </ b> C emits a sound emission sound signal SdC = SsA (G 3, T <b> 3) whose gain and delay are adjusted. The audio conference apparatus 1D emits the sound emission sound signal SdD = SsA (G5, T5) whose gain and delay are adjusted.

  By performing such processing, the conference participants 200B to 200D and 200F to 200H can listen to the speech of the conference participant 200A at a sufficient volume and without a sense of incongruity due to the difference between the live sound and the emitted sound. it can. In addition, since the conference participant 200E is present near the front of the conference participant 200A, it is possible to directly listen to the live audio of the conference participant 200A. And since the conference participant 200A does not hear his / her uttered sound as the emitted sound, he / she can speak without a sense of incongruity.

  As described above, by using the configuration and processing of the present embodiment, even when a conference is performed in a wide space, all the conference members can listen to the speech of each speaker at a sufficient volume and without a sense of incongruity. it can.

In addition, in such a state of sound emission and collection processing, each of the audio conference apparatuses 1A to 1D can form a sound emission sound having strong directivity in the direction of the conference person as described above. By setting so that the emitted sound is emitted only in the direction, the emitted sounds are not mixed between adjacent conference parties. As a result, each conference person can listen to the voice of the speaker without further discomfort.
In addition, since each of the audio conference apparatuses 1A to 1D can detect the operation input and the collected sound beam signal as described above, even if the conference person moves, the audio conference apparatus 1A to 1D can surely emit the sound toward the conference person. Can do. Thereby, even if a conference person moves, he can hear a speaker's voice reliably.

  In the above description, the case where both gain adjustment and delay time adjustment are performed has been described. However, only one of them may be performed. In this case, the sound output sound signal can be generated with better response by reducing the load of the mixing process.

  Further, in the above description, the case where two conference persons are present in one audio conference apparatus has been described. However, the above-described configuration is possible even when more people are present in one audio conference apparatus. Can be applied. In this case, an audio conference device in which many people are present, even if a sound with a wide directivity is emitted so as to be emitted equally to all people present, Sound may be emitted.

  Moreover, each audio | voice conference apparatus 1A-1D can detect a conference person as mentioned above. Furthermore, even if a plurality of people are present, sound emission can be provided to each person. By using these, even if a conference participant joins one of the audio conferencing devices halfway and the number of conference participants increases, all the conference parties can listen to the speaker's utterance at a sufficient volume and without any sense of incongruity. Can be taken.

  At this time, each of the audio conference devices 1A to 1D provides the conference voice control device 2 with the direction information of each conference person, so that the conference voice control device 2 can detect the distance information of each voice conference device and the direction information of each conference person. From the above, the distance between each conference party can be set in more detail. By using the distance between the conference participants, the gain and the delay time can be set in more detail.

It is a block diagram of the audio conference system of embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the communication wiring of the audio conference system of embodiment of this invention. It is a three-view figure of the audio conference apparatuses 1A to 1D according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the main structures of the audio conference apparatuses 1A-1D of embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the main structures of the meeting audio | voice control apparatus 2 of embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the relationship of the gain G of each sound collection audio | voice signal SsA-SsD at the time of comprising each sound emission sound signal SdA-SdD, and each sound collection sound signal SsA at the time of comprising each sound emission sound signal SdA-SdD It is a figure which shows the relationship of the delay time T of -SsD. It is a figure which shows the condition where only the conference person 200A is speaking.

Explanation of symbols

1 (1A to 1D) -voice conference device, 2-conference voice control device, 10 main control unit, 11 communication control unit, 12-sound emission control unit, 13-D / A converter, 14-sound emission amplifier (AMP) , 15-sound collecting amplifier (AMP), 16-A / D converter, 17-sound collecting control unit, 18-echo canceling unit, 19-remote control transmission / reception unit, 112-housing, 113-leg unit, 114-operation unit , 200A-200H-conference, SP1-SP16-speaker, MIC101-MIC116, MIC201-MIC216-microphone

Claims (2)

A plurality of audio conferencing apparatuses arranged in a predetermined pattern, each having a sound collection means for realizing a plurality of sound collection directivities different from each other and a sound emission means for realizing a plurality of sound emission directivities different from each other;
A conference sound control means for receiving sound pickup signals from the plurality of voice conference devices and generating a sound emission signal having an adjustment volume according to the distance from the voice conference device that has generated the sound pickup signals;
Voice conference system with   The audio conference apparatus includes a microphone array including a plurality of microphones, a speaker array including a plurality of speakers, and a conference direction determining unit that detects a conference direction based on sound collected by the plurality of microphones. When a plurality of different conference directions are detected by the conference direction detection means, the sound output to the plurality of speakers is controlled to simultaneously emit sound with individual sound output directivity for each conference direction. The audio conference system according to claim 1, wherein:

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