JP2010156809A - Projector device and control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a projector device which outputs clear voice guidance. <P>SOLUTION: The projector device includes: image output parts 17 to 20 projecting images of content; voice output parts 22 and 23 outputting voice of the content; and a system controller 13 controlling the voice output parts 22 and 23 to output the voice guidance to a user. When outputting the voice guidance, the system controller 13 performs environment setting to increase a ratio of sound signal to noise of the voice guidance at least to the voice output parts 22 and 23, and starts output of the voice guidance from the voice output parts 22 and 23 after the environment setting. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a projector apparatus that outputs a voice guide to a user and a control method thereof.

  In general, a projector device requires a large amount of electric power to turn on a light source lamp and drive an optical engine, and generates a large amount of heat. In order to keep the temperature in the apparatus within a specified range against such heat generation, a projector is usually provided with a cooling fan.

  Such a cooling fan is a noise source in the projector apparatus. Conventionally, a technique for controlling the rotation speed of a cooling fan has been proposed in order to prevent the sound of content from being difficult to hear due to noise from the cooling fan (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In recent years, a projector apparatus that provides voice guidance to a user has been developed, but this voice guide is affected by the noise of the cooling fan as well as the voice of the content. In the case where voice guidance is performed by another device provided with a cooling fan, for example, it has been proposed to increase the volume of the voice guide with respect to noise from the cooling fan (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2003-322909 A JP 2007-240057 A

  However, with the techniques of Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2, it is not possible to make it easy to hear the voice guide effectively against various noises including the voice of the content.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a projector apparatus and a control method therefor that can improve the ease of listening to a voice guide.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a video output unit for projecting content video, an audio output unit for outputting audio of content, and a control unit for controlling the audio output unit to perform audio guidance for a user The control unit executes an environment setting for increasing the audio signal / noise ratio of the audio guide for at least the audio output unit when performing the audio guide, and the audio guide from the audio output unit is executed after the environment setting is executed. A projector device configured to start audio output is provided.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control method for a projector apparatus that includes a video output unit that projects content video and an audio output unit that outputs content audio, and provides audio guidance to the user. In this case, a control method is provided in which environment setting for increasing the voice signal / noise ratio of the voice guide is executed at least on the voice output unit, and voice output of the voice guide from the voice output unit is started after execution of this environment setting. The

  In these projector apparatuses and their control methods, when outputting a voice guide to the user, an environment setting for increasing the voice signal / noise ratio of the voice guide is executed at least for the voice output unit, Voice output of the voice guide is started after this environment setting. In this environment setting, it is possible to increase the voice signal / noise ratio of the voice guide by, for example, reducing the volume of the voice of the content to zero or reducing the volume. Since voice output of the voice guide is started after this state is reached, the user's attention is drawn and the ease of listening to the voice guide is improved.

  Hereinafter, a projector device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic circuit configuration of the projector apparatus. The projector device includes a video input unit 11, a video signal processing unit 12, a system control unit 13, a memory 14, an operation unit 15, a power supply unit 16, a lamp driving unit 17, a lamp 18, an optical engine 19, an optical engine driving unit 20, and audio. An input unit 21, an audio processing unit 22, a speaker 23, a fan driving unit 24, a cooling fan 25, a temperature sensor 26, and a sound collecting microphone 27 are provided. The video input unit 11 inputs a video signal of content and converts it into digital video signal data. The video signal processing unit 12 adjusts and processes the video signal data from the video input unit 11 and transfers it to the system control unit 13. The system control unit 13 is provided to control the operation of the entire apparatus. The memory 14 holds the control program of the system control unit 13 and temporarily holds various data including video output parameters and audio output parameters. The operation unit 15 is a user interface that is operated to input various key information to the system control unit 13. The power supply unit 16 generates various internal power supply voltages for the operation of each component under the control of the system control unit 13. The lamp driving unit 17 drives the lamp 18 under the control of the system control unit 13. The lamp 18 is provided as a light source for the optical engine 19. The optical engine drive unit 20 uses the light source light from the lamp 18 to project an image corresponding to the video signal data from the system control unit 13. Further, the system control unit 13 controls the lighting of the lamp 18 by selectively supplying the internal power supply voltage from the power supply unit 16 to the lamp driving unit 17.

  In order to keep the system temperature within the specified temperature because the lamp 18 is turned on and the optical engine 19 is driven and requires a large amount of heat and the amount of heat generated is large, the system controller 13 obtains the temperature status of the device obtained from the temperature sensor 26. Accordingly, the number of rotations of the cooling fan 25 per unit time, that is, the rotation speed is determined, and the fan drive unit 24 is controlled to rotate the cooling fan 25 at this rotation speed. The sound collecting microphone 27 detects noise around the apparatus and supplies the detection result to the system control unit 13.

  The system control unit 13 indicates the state of the apparatus to the user by displaying the apparatus setting state, operation mode, warning, error, and the like on the projection screen. In addition, the key information input by the operation unit 15 is determined while viewing the screen display, and the setting of the apparatus and the switching of the operation mode are performed.

  The audio input unit 21 inputs an audio signal of content. The voice processing unit 22 performs voice processing on the voice signal from the voice input unit 21, and the speaker 23 outputs the processing result of the voice processing unit 22 as voice. The audio processing unit 22 outputs the audio of the content and the audio guide at a volume according to the notification of the output volume of the audio and the audio guide notified from the system control unit 13, respectively.

  In the system control unit 13, when an error such as the power on / off state, the lamp 18 running out, or the temperature abnormality occurs, the content is displayed on the screen, or the voice processing unit 22 is controlled to generate an operation sound or an error sound. It can also be generated. Further, the reproduction sound data of the voice guide stored in the memory 14 is read and supplied to the voice processing unit 22 to output the voice of the voice guide.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a voice guide output process for controlling the operation of the cooling fan 25. When the voice guide output process is started, the system control unit 13 checks whether there is a voice guide output request in block B11. When there is an audio guide output request, the operation status of the cooling fan 25 is confirmed in block B12. When the cooling fan 25 is in operation, fan operation control such as stopping the cooling fan 25 or lowering the rotation speed of the cooling fan 25 is performed in block B14 as an environment setting. In the next block B15, the output parameter of the voice guide is set as the environment setting. Here, the output parameter is the volume of the voice guide and the time until the voice guide starts. The volume is set so as to correspond to the rotational speed of the cooling fan 25, for example, to be larger when the rotation is high and smaller when the cooling fan 25 is stopped. Also, the time until the voice guide is started is determined such that, for example, when the cooling fan 25 is stopped, the voice guide is output after waiting for a time exceeding the time required for the cooling fan 25 to stop. Thereby, the delayed voice guide output is performed based on the parameter determined in block B16. That is, the voice guide is reproduced from the beginning without being disturbed by the noise of the cooling fan 25. After the voice guide is output, the fan operation is restored in block B17 to return the rotation speed of the cooling fan 25 to the original state obtained before the environment setting.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of an audio guide output process for controlling audio content output. When the voice guide output process is started, the system control unit 13 checks in block B21 whether there is a voice guide output request. If there is an audio guide output request, the audio content output status is detected in block B22. If it is confirmed in block B23 that this detection result is being output, audio content output control is performed as an environment setting to stop audio output or reduce the volume in block B24. In the next block B25, the output parameter of the voice guide is set as the environment setting. Here, the output parameter is the volume of the voice guide and the time until the voice guide starts. The volume is set so that the volume of the voice guide increases relative to the volume of the audio content. The time until the voice guide is started is determined so that the voice guide is output after waiting for a length exceeding a certain time after the volume of the voice content is changed. Thereby, the delayed voice guide output is performed based on the parameter determined in block B26. That is, the voice guide is reproduced from the beginning without being disturbed by the output of the voice content. After outputting the audio guide, the audio content output is restored in block B27 to return the audio content volume to the original state obtained before the environment setting.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of voice guide output processing for controlling the volume in accordance with ambient noise. When the voice guide output process is started, the system control unit 13 checks in block B31 whether there is a voice guide output request. When there is a voice guide output request, the noise level is detected in block B32, and the voice guide output parameters are set as environment settings in block B33. Here, the output parameter is the volume of the audio content and the audio guide and the time until the start of the audio guide. The volume is set so that the volume of the voice guide increases relative to the detected noise level (volume), and the volume of the voice content is set to zero only during the voice guide. The time until the voice guide is started is determined so that the voice guide is output after waiting for a length exceeding a certain time after the volume of the voice content is changed. Accordingly, the delayed voice guide output is performed based on the parameter determined in block B34. In the subsequent block B35, the voice signal / noise ratio (S / N ratio) of the voice guide is calculated. The S / N ratio is calculated based on a comparison between the sound collected from the sound collection microphone 27 when the voice guide is reproduced in the absence of ambient sound and the data collected during actual use. Can be obtained. If the calculated S / N ratio is higher than a preset level, if detected in block B36, the ambient noise is sufficiently low, and the processing is terminated assuming that the user can hear the voice guide. If the S / N ratio is lower than a preset level, it is considered that the user may not have heard the voice guide, and the process returns to block B33 and repeats from the setting of the voice guide output parameter.

  The timing for determining the S / N ratio is not particularly limited, and may be at the time when the voice guide is completed, or may be determined during the voice guide, and the volume may be increased from the middle.

  FIG. 5 shows a modification of the voice guide output process. When voice guide output to an external speaker or personal computer is possible, block B51 is inserted into an arbitrary voice guide output process as shown in FIG.

  When there is a voice guide output request, the connection state of the external speaker is detected in block B51. The external speaker may be a speaker connected to the projector apparatus main body via an audio (Audio) terminal, or may be a speaker of a personal computer connected to a network. In this case, the output parameter setting of the voice guide is changed as follows. The output parameter is a volume of an audio guide or an output destination speaker. In this case, the voice guide is reproduced based on the determined parameter. When the output destination is an external speaker, a voice signal is sent to the external speaker, and when the output destination is a personal computer connected to the network, voice guide data is sent to the personal computer. In this case, the environment setting related to the cooling fan 25 and the audio content is omitted.

  FIG. 6 shows another modification of the voice guide output process. If the volume can be changed according to the size of the screen, a block B61 is inserted into an arbitrary voice guide output process as shown in FIG. If there is a voice guide output request, the size of the projection screen of the projector device is acquired in block B61. As a method for acquiring the size of the projection screen, for example, a method in which a camera is mounted on a projector device and used can be considered. Alternatively, a method of measuring the distance from the projector device to the projection surface with a distance measuring sensor and obtaining the screen size from the measured distance and the performance of the projection lens is also conceivable. In this case, the output parameter setting of the voice guide is changed as follows. The output parameter is the volume of the voice guide. If the acquired projection screen is large, the volume is increased because there is a high possibility that a large number of people are gathering in a relatively large place, and the volume is decreased as the projection screen becomes smaller. A voice guide is output based on the determined parameters.

  In the present embodiment, the lamp driving unit 17, the lamp 18, the optical engine 19, and the optical engine driving unit 20 constitute a video output unit that projects content video, and the audio processing unit 22 and the speaker 23 output content audio. An audio output unit is configured. When outputting the voice guide to the user, the system control unit 13 executes environment setting for increasing the ratio of the signal component of the voice guide to the noise component for at least the voice output unit. Output from the audio output unit with a delay from the execution timing of the setting. In the environment setting, it is possible to increase the ratio of the signal component of the voice guide to the noise component, for example, by reducing or reducing the volume of the content voice. Since voice output of the voice guide is started after this state is reached, the user's attention is drawn and the ease of listening to the voice guide is improved.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, It can deform | transform variously in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

  The voice guide output processing described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6 may be arbitrarily combined. In other words, the S / N ratio of the voice guide can be arbitrarily combined with a decrease or stop of the cooling fan rotation speed, a decrease in volume or no volume of the audio of the content, an increase in the volume of the voice guide, external output, volume adjustment based on the projection size, etc. It may be increased depending on the environment setting executed.

  Also, the various modules of the systems described herein can be implemented with software applications, hardware and / or software modules, or components on one or more computers, such as a server. While these various modules are described separately, they may be allocated to all or part of the underlying logic or code.

It is a figure which shows schematic circuit structure of the projector apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the audio | voice guide output process which controls the operation | movement of a cooling fan by the system control part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the audio | voice guide output process which controls audio | voice content output by the system control part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the audio | voice guide output process which controls a volume according to ambient noise by the system control part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification of an audio | voice guide output process. It is a figure which shows the other modification of an audio | voice guide output process.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 ... System control part, 17 ... Lamp drive part, 18 ... Lamp, 19 ... Optical engine, 20 ... Optical engine drive part, 22 ... Sound processing part, 23 ... Speaker, 24 ... Fan drive part, 25 ... Cooling fan, 26 ... temperature sensor, 27 ... sound collecting microphone.

Claims (9)

  A video output unit for projecting content video; an audio output unit for outputting audio of the content; and a control unit for controlling the audio output unit to perform audio guidance for a user. When performing voice guidance, the environment setting for increasing the voice signal / noise ratio of the voice guide is executed for at least the voice output unit, and after the environment setting is performed, the voice output of the voice guide from the voice output unit is performed. A projector device configured to start the operation.   The projector device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit increases the volume of the voice guide relative to the volume of the voice of the content output from the voice output unit as the environment setting.   The projector device according to claim 1, further comprising a cooling fan that lowers a temperature inside the device, wherein the control unit lowers a rotation speed of the cooling fan as the environment setting.   The projection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a delay from the environment setting to the output of the voice guide is set to a length exceeding a time required to stop the rotation of the cooling fan.   Furthermore, a sound collecting microphone for detecting ambient noise is provided, and the control unit increases the sound guide volume relative to the sound volume detected by the sound collecting microphone as the environment setting. The projector device according to claim 1.   The control unit acquires a size of a screen that is a projection destination of the video by the video output unit, and relatively increases a volume of the voice guide with respect to an increase in the size of the screen as the environment setting. The projector device according to claim 1.   The control unit omits the environment setting and outputs the audio of the audio guide from the different output destination when there is an output destination different from the audio output destination of the content. The projector device according to claim 1.   The projection device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit returns the environment setting to an original state after the voice guide is output.   A control method of a projector apparatus comprising a video output unit for projecting content video and an audio output unit for outputting audio of content, wherein the voice signal / noise of the voice guide is provided when performing voice guidance for a user. The control method is characterized in that an environment setting for increasing the ratio is executed on at least the sound output unit, and the sound output of the sound guide from the sound output unit is started after the environment setting is executed.

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