JP2017069804A - Sound emitting device and acoustic system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for enabling a sound emitting device to emit a sound in an appropriate position or direction while reducing an artificial burden relating to installation work of the sound emitting device.SOLUTION: A traveling speaker device 20 comprises wheels for changing a location or direction of the device itself and a speaker. Based on measurement sounds emitted from the speaker of the traveling speaker device 20, a content reproduction device 10 measures acoustic properties in an acoustic space (S3-S6). Based on measurement results of the acoustic properties, the content reproduction device 10 then transmits to the traveling speaker device 20 a control command for changing the location or direction of the traveling speaker device 20 in such a manner that surround effects are optimized (S7). In accordance with the received control command, the traveling speaker device 20 adjusts the location or the direction of the device itself (S8).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to control of a sound emitting device whose position or orientation changes with the power of its own device.

  Conventionally, electronic devices equipped with a self-propelled function have been proposed. Patent Document 1 describes a self-propelled information providing apparatus that self-runs within an installation location and provides information to a customer or the like by displaying information or outputting sound when a human body is detected. Patent Document 2 describes an electric field strength measuring device that self-runs in a local area such as a building and measures electric field strength.

JP 2002-86372 A JP-A-9-189732

In a surround system that outputs sound with a surround effect from a plurality of speakers, the user must perform installation work to adjust the position and orientation of the speakers so as to optimize the effect. However, an artificial burden related to the installation work increases as the number of speakers increases, for example. In addition, there is a technique that enables a three-dimensional sound expression including a height direction by using a speaker installed on the ceiling, but it may not be easy to perform the installation work appropriately. In addition, although there is a high need to use the room widely during normal times, it is not easy to install a large number of speakers only when necessary without permanently installing them.
The present invention has been made under the above-described background, and enables the sound emitting device to emit sound at an appropriate position or orientation while reducing an artificial burden related to installation work of the sound emitting device. It aims at providing the technology to do.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a sound emitting device of the present invention includes a driving unit that operates so as to change the position or orientation of its own device, a sound emitting unit that emits sound into space, and an acoustic signal from an external acoustic device. The sound signal receiving means for receiving the sound signal, the reproducing means for causing the sound emitting means to emit sound by reproducing at least the sound signal received from the acoustic device, and the sound emitted from the sound emitting means. Drive control means for controlling the drive means so as to change the position or orientation of the apparatus.
In the sound emitting device of the present invention, the reproducing means outputs a measurement sound from the sound emitting means by reproducing a measurement sound signal, and the own device has an acoustic characteristic of the space measured based on the measurement sound. Command receiving means for receiving a command for setting a corresponding position or orientation from the acoustic device may be provided, and the drive control means may control the driving means in accordance with the command received from the acoustic device.
In the sound emitting device of the present invention, position information indicating a position of a sound source at each time is added to the acoustic signal, and the drive control unit is configured to add the position added to the acoustic signal reproduced by the reproducing unit. The device itself may be moved according to the information.
The acoustic device of the present invention includes an acoustic signal transmitting unit that transmits an acoustic signal to the sound emitting device having any one of the above-described configurations, and a command for operating the driving unit to change the position or orientation of the sound emitting device. Is transmitted to the sound emitting device.
In the audio device of the present invention, the command transmission means may transmit the command according to content information of a content that is a basis for generating the audio signal.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the technique which enables the said sound emission apparatus to emit sound in a suitable position or direction can be provided, reducing the artificial burden concerning the installation work of a sound emission apparatus.

It is a figure showing the whole acoustic system composition concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the content reproduction apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a figure which shows the external appearance structure of the traveling type speaker apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the traveling type speaker apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a figure which shows the external appearance structure of the flight type speaker apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the flight type speaker apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows control of the traveling type speaker apparatus performed with the acoustic system which concerns on the embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the position of each speaker apparatus in the acoustic space which concerns on the embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows control of the flight type speaker apparatus performed with the acoustic system which concerns on the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the fixing method to the ceiling of the flight type speaker apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the feedback control which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a figure which shows the external appearance structure of the flight type speaker apparatus which concerns on one modification of this invention. It is a figure which shows the external appearance structure of the flight type speaker apparatus which concerns on one modification of this invention. It is a figure which shows the mode of cooperation of the flight type speaker apparatus.

[Embodiment]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an acoustic system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a plan view of an acoustic space 100 in which the acoustic system 1 is configured from above. The acoustic space 100 is a rectangular parallelepiped in this embodiment, and is a space formed in a facility such as a movie theater, a concert hall, or a house. A symbol “P” illustrated in FIG. 1 is a listening position set in the acoustic space 100, and the listener listens to the sound of the acoustic system 1 at this position.

  The acoustic system 1 includes a content reproduction device 10, five traveling speaker devices 20 (20C, 20FR, 20FL, 20SR, 20SL), and two flying speaker devices 30 (30R, 30L). The traveling speaker device 20 is a sound emitting device that changes its position or orientation by traveling with the power of its own device. The flying speaker device 30 is a sound emitting device that changes its position or orientation by flying with the power of its own device. By changing the position of the sound emitting device, the position where sound is output in the acoustic space 100 changes. The change in the position of the sound emitting device is that the position of the center of gravity changes in this embodiment, in other words, the sound emitting device moves. In the present embodiment, the change in the direction of the sound emitting device is to rotate so that the sound emitting direction changes. As the direction of the sound emitting device changes, the direction in which sound is output from the sound emitting device changes. The position of the sound emitting device may remain unchanged, and only its direction may change.

  The traveling speaker devices 20C, 20FR, 20FL, 20SR, and 20SL are installed on the floor surface of the acoustic space 100, that is, on the same plane. The flying speaker devices 30R and 30L are located above the listener at the listening position P, and are located on the left and right as viewed from the listener's position. The flying speaker devices 30 </ b> R and 30 </ b> L are installed at positions that are not on the same plane as the five traveling speaker devices 20.

  In the present embodiment, the content playback device 10 is a device that plays back content (corresponding to the audio device of the present invention). The acoustic signal generated by reproducing the content is a digital signal representing a sound waveform. The content playback device 10 is, for example, a device that plays back a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) or a BD (Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc), or a device that plays back content distributed via a network (for example, a set top box). Yes, but not limited to these devices.

  In the present embodiment, by reproduction of content, a “channel base signal” that is a channel-based acoustic signal and an “object base signal” that is an object-based acoustic signal are generated. In this embodiment, the channel base signal is a multi-channel (5.1ch in this embodiment) acoustic signal. The object base signal is an acoustic signal in which position information indicating the position of the sound source at each time is added to a signal representing a sound waveform, and defines a sound source object. The position information is represented by coordinate information with the listening position P as the origin, for example. It is known that driving a speaker based on an object base signal is suitable for realizing localization (or movement) of a sound image in a three-dimensional space.

When playing back content, the content playback apparatus 10 has a center channel for the traveling speaker device 20C, a right front channel for the traveling speaker device 20FR, a left front channel for the traveling speaker device 20FL, and a traveling speaker device. A right surround channel is assigned to 20SR, and a left surround channel is assigned to traveling speaker device 20SL, and a channel base signal of the assigned channel is transmitted. In addition, the content reproduction device 10 transmits object base signals to be reproduced by the sound emitting devices to the flying speaker devices 30L and 30R.
The content reproduction apparatus 10 is connected to each of the traveling speaker apparatus 20 and the flying speaker apparatus 30 so as to be able to communicate with each other wirelessly. The communication method is, for example, short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), but may be a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or other communication methods.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the content reproduction apparatus 10. A solid line arrow shown in FIG. 2 means a path through which a signal flows.
The control unit 11 controls each unit of the content reproduction apparatus 10. The control unit 11 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as an arithmetic processing device, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a processor including a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a signal processing circuit exemplified by a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). And a non-volatile memory exemplified by EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable). As functions of the control unit 11, there are a measurement unit 111 and an analysis unit 112. The measurement unit 111 functions as a measurement unit that measures the acoustic characteristics of the acoustic space 100. The analysis unit 112 functions as an analysis unit that analyzes the content to be played.

  The operation unit 12 includes a physical button or a touch sensor, for example, and receives an operation performed by the user. The content playback unit 13 includes a playback device that plays back content. The video signal output IF 14 is an interface that outputs a video signal generated by the content reproduction by the content reproduction unit 13 to a display device (not shown).

  The signal processing unit 15 processes the acoustic signal output from the content reproduction unit 13. The signal processing unit 15 includes an acoustic signal input reception unit 151, a channel base signal transmission unit 152, and an object base signal transmission unit 153.

  The acoustic signal input reception unit 151 includes, for example, a DIR (Digital Audio Interface Receiver), and functions as an input reception unit that receives a signal input from the content reproduction unit 13. The acoustic signal input reception unit 151 receives a signal input from the content reproduction unit 13 and according to the configuration of the sound emitting device connected to the signal processing unit 15 (for example, the number and arrangement of sound emitting devices), A channel base signal and an object base signal are generated and output. In the present embodiment, the acoustic signal input reception unit 151 generates five channel base signals and two object base signals in accordance with the configuration of the sound emitting device described in FIG.

  The channel base signal transmission unit 152 functions as an acoustic signal transmission unit that transmits the channel base signal of the allocated channel to the traveling speaker device 20 connected wirelessly. In the channel base signal transmitter 152, the channel base signal transmitter 152C is connected to the traveling speaker device 20C, the channel base signal transmitter 152FR is connected to the traveling speaker device 20FR, and the channel base signal transmitter 152FL is connected to the traveling speaker device 20FL. The channel base signal transmission unit 152SR transmits the channel base signal to the traveling speaker device 20SR, and the channel base signal transmission unit 152SL transmits the channel base signal to the traveling speaker device 20SL.

  The object base signal transmission unit 153 functions as an acoustic signal transmission unit that transmits the object base signal to the flying speaker device 30 connected wirelessly. In the object base signal transmission unit 153, the object base signal transmission unit 153R transmits the object base signal to the flying speaker device 30R, and the object base signal transmission unit 153L transmits the object base signal to the flying speaker device 30L.

The command transmission unit 16 functions as a command transmission unit that transmits commands for performing various controls to each of the five traveling speaker devices 20 and the two flying speaker devices 30.
The channel base signal transmission unit 152, the object base signal transmission unit 153, and the command transmission unit 16 are configured using, for example, a single or a plurality of wireless communication circuits and antennas.

  When the sound collected by the microphone MIC is converted into an analog acoustic signal, the A / D converter 17 converts the collected acoustic signal into a digital format and then supplies it to the control unit 11. The microphone MIC is, for example, an omnidirectional microphone, and is a sound collecting means that is installed at the listening position P when measuring the acoustic characteristics of the acoustic space 100.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an external configuration of the traveling speaker device 20. FIG. 3 shows a front view, a right side view, and a bottom view of the traveling speaker device 20. Note that the appearance configurations of the five traveling speaker devices 20 do not have to be the same, and may be suitable for the assigned channel.
The traveling speaker device 20 includes an enclosure 21 and a speaker 22 that is provided in front of the enclosure 21 and that emits sound into the acoustic space 100. Here, the speaker 22 is provided so that the horizontal direction is the sound emission direction. Furthermore, the traveling speaker device 20 includes wheels 23A, 23B, 23C, and 23D provided at the four corners of the bottom surface of the enclosure 21. The wheels 23 </ b> A to 23 </ b> D are traveling means for causing the traveling speaker device 20 to travel, and each independently rotate about the wheel axis and about the vertical axis. A charging terminal 208 for charging the battery 207 of the traveling speaker device 20 is provided on the rear surface of the enclosure 21.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the traveling speaker device 20. In FIG. 4, a signal flow between blocks is indicated by a solid arrow, a power flow is indicated by a broken arrow, and a physical connection is indicated by a solid line.
The channel base signal receiving unit 201 functions as an acoustic signal receiving unit that receives the channel base signal transmitted by the channel base signal transmitting unit 152 of the content reproduction apparatus 10.
The reproduction unit 202 includes a signal processing circuit including a D / A conversion circuit, an amplifier, an equalizer, a filter, and the like, and reproduces an acoustic signal to cause the speaker 22 to emit sound (that is, output a sound represented by the acoustic signal). Function as a playback means. In addition to the acoustic signal received by the channel base signal receiving unit 201, the reproducing unit 202 uses a measurement sound signal representing a measurement sound used for measuring the acoustic characteristics of the acoustic space 100 as a reproduction target.
The command reception unit 203 functions as a command reception unit that receives a command transmitted by the command transmission unit 16 of the content reproduction apparatus 10.

  The measurement sound signal generation unit 204 functions as measurement sound signal generation means for generating a measurement sound signal. The measurement sound is, for example, a sound having no periodicity centered on 4 kHz or a sound having no periodicity such as noise.

  The drive control unit 205 functions as drive control means for changing the position or orientation of the traveling speaker device 20 by driving the drive sources 206A to 206D as drive means so as to operate the wheels 23A to 23D. Specifically, drive source 206A includes a motor connected to the wheel shaft of wheel 23A and a motor connected to the vertical shaft. Similarly, drive source 206B includes a motor connected to the wheel shaft of wheel 23B and a motor connected to the vertical shaft. Drive source 206C includes a motor connected to the wheel shaft of wheel 23C and a motor connected to the vertical shaft. Drive source 206D includes a motor connected to the wheel shaft of wheel 23D and a motor connected to the vertical shaft. The drive control unit 205 drives each of the drive sources 206 </ b> A to 206 </ b> D, for example, to cause the traveling speaker device 20 to move forward, backward, obliquely, and rotate (turn).

  Here, the battery 207 is a secondary battery and serves as a power source for the traveling speaker device 20. The battery 207 is charged by receiving power from the charging device 40 when the charging terminal 208 is brought into contact with the charging terminal 41 of the charging device 40.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an external configuration of the flying speaker device 30. FIG. 5 shows a front view of the flying speaker device 30 as viewed obliquely from the front.
The flying speaker device 30 includes a substantially cross-shaped platform (base body) 31, motors 32 A, 32 B, 32 C, and 32 D as driving means provided at four ends of the platform 31, and motors 32 A, 32 A, Rotating blades 33A, 33B, 33C, and 33D connected to the rotating shafts of 32B, 32C, and 32D, respectively. The rotary blades 33A, 33B, 33C, and 33D are flying means for flying the flying speaker device 30 and can be independently driven to rotate. The platform 31 is provided with a pair of leg portions 34A and 34B. A speaker 36 as sound emitting means is connected to the bottom surface of the platform 31 via a bar-like support member 35. Here, the speaker 36 is provided so that the sound emission direction is directly below.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the flying speaker device 30. In FIG. 6, the signal flow between the blocks is indicated by a solid line arrow, the power flow is indicated by a broken line arrow, and the physical connection is indicated by a solid line.
The object base signal reception unit 301 functions as an acoustic signal reception unit that receives the object base signal transmitted by the object base signal transmission unit 153 of the content reproduction apparatus 10.
The reproduction unit 302 has a signal processing circuit including, for example, a D / A conversion circuit, an amplifier, an equalizer, a filter, and the like, and functions as a reproduction unit that reproduces an object base signal to cause the speaker 36 to emit sound. In addition to the object base signal received by the object base signal reception unit 301, the reproduction unit 302 uses the measurement sound signal as a reproduction target.
The command receiving unit 303 functions as a command receiving unit that receives the command transmitted by the command transmitting unit 16 of the content reproduction apparatus 10.
The measurement sound signal generation unit 304 is measurement sound signal generation means for generating a measurement sound signal.

  The drive control unit 305 functions as a drive control unit that changes the position or orientation of the flying speaker device 30 by driving the motors 32A, 32B, 32C, and 32D. The motor 32A rotates the rotating blade 33A, the motor 32B rotates the rotating blade 33B, the motor 32C rotates the rotating blade 33C, and the motor 32D rotates the rotating blade 33D. The drive controller 305 drives the motors 32A, 32B, 32C, and 32D, for example, to fly or rotate the flying speaker device 30 in the horizontal direction, the vertical direction, or the intersecting direction thereof.

  Here, the battery 306 is a secondary battery and serves as a power source for the flying speaker device 30. The charging control unit 307 receives power from the charging device 50 and charges the battery 306 by approaching the charging device 50 that performs non-contact power feeding. Although the charging control unit 307 includes a power receiving element (for example, a coil or an electrode) for receiving power in a non-contact manner, the power receiving element may be provided at any position of the flying speaker device 30.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
<A: Control of traveling speaker device 20>
FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing the control of the traveling speaker device 20 performed in the acoustic system 1. In the acoustic system 1, the control shown in FIG. 7 is performed for each traveling speaker device 20. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the position of each sound emitting device in the acoustic space 100. As shown in the upper part of FIG. 8, each of the traveling speaker devices 20FR, 20FL, 20SR, and 20SL is the four corners of the acoustic space 100 before the installation work, and the position where the device should be originally installed or its vicinity. Is arranged. The traveling speaker device 20 </ b> C is disposed on the front side of the content reproduction device 10. In the present embodiment, the position shown in the upper part of FIG. 8 is a base for movement of the traveling speaker device 20, but a position different from this may be the base.

The command transmission unit 16 of the content reproduction device 10 transmits a start command to the traveling speaker device 20 (step S1). The start command indicates an instruction to start control for setting the traveling speaker device 20 to an appropriate position or orientation by the traveling operation of the traveling speaker device 20.
In step S <b> 1, the command transmission unit 16 may transmit a start command according to a user instruction, or may transmit without a user instruction (that is, automatically). The command transmission unit 16 transmits a start command in accordance with, for example, the type of content to be reproduced or a prior instruction for each content instructed by the user. Examples of content types include content by disk media, broadcast content exemplified by television, and content genre information. For example, when the content genre information is a movie, the command transmission unit 16 transmits a start command without a user instruction, and when the content is a variety program, the command transmission unit 16 transmits a start command according to the user instruction.

In the traveling speaker device 20, when the command receiving unit 203 receives the start command, the drive control unit 205 controls the driving sources 206A to 206D so as to move the traveling speaker device 20 to the destination point (step S2). . The drive control unit 205 moves the traveling speaker device 20 from the base described in the upper part of FIG. 8 in the direction indicated by the arrow shown in the lower part of FIG. The destination point is set to a position where the traveling speaker device 20 should be originally installed or a position close to it according to the channel assigned to the traveling speaker device 20 (that is, the sound emitted by the traveling speaker device 20). Is done. The destination point is a point set by the user, for example, but may be determined in any way. The destination point may be determined in consideration of the shape and dimensions of the acoustic space 100.
In addition, when the traveling speaker device 20 moves to the destination point, the traveling speaker device 20 responds to the content reproduction device 10 with a notification command for notifying the fact.

  When the movement of the traveling speaker device 20 to the destination point is completed, the command transmission unit 16 of the content reproduction device 10 transmits a measurement command to the traveling speaker device 20 (step S3). The measurement command is a command for instructing start of measurement of acoustic characteristics.

  In the traveling speaker device 20, when the command receiving unit 203 receives the measurement command, the measurement sound signal generating unit 204 generates a measurement sound signal. The reproduction unit 202 reproduces the measurement sound signal supplied from the measurement sound signal generation unit 204, thereby causing the speaker 22 to output the measurement sound (step S4).

  In the content reproduction apparatus 10, the measurement unit 111 (control unit 11) acquires a collected sound signal representing the measurement sound from the microphone MIC, and measures the acoustic characteristics of the acoustic space 100 (step S5). The acoustic characteristics are measured when the traveling speaker device 20 outputs the measurement sound one by one and the measurement unit 111 analyzes the acoustic signal of the sound collected by the microphone MIC. In step S5, for example, the distance from the listening position to the traveling speaker device 20 (hereinafter referred to as “speaker distance”), frequency characteristics, sound pressure level, and phase are measured.

  Next, the measuring unit 111 determines whether the measurement result of the acoustic characteristics is good (step S6). For example, the measurement unit 111 determines whether or not each of the speaker distance, the frequency characteristic, the sound pressure level, and the phase is included in a predetermined numerical range.

  When the measurement unit 111 determines that the measurement result of the acoustic characteristics is not good for at least some items (step S6; NO), the command transmission unit 16 identifies the traveling speaker device 20 based on the measurement result. A control command for setting the position or orientation is transmitted to the traveling speaker device 20 (step S7). The control command includes, for example, drive data (for example, data on a movement direction, a movement distance, a rotation direction, and a rotation angle) indicating the driving content calculated from the measurement result of the acoustic characteristics. If adjustment of the position or orientation of the traveling speaker device 20 is not necessary, driving data to that effect is calculated.

In the traveling speaker device 20, when the command receiving unit 203 receives the control command, the drive control unit 205 adjusts the position or orientation of the traveling speaker device 20 according to the control command (step S8). For example, when the speaker distance is larger than the target distance, the drive control unit 205 moves the traveling speaker device 20 so as to reduce the speaker distance so as to approach the target distance. When the speaker distance is smaller than the target distance, the drive control unit 205 The traveling speaker device 20 is moved so as to increase the distance so as to approach the target distance. Furthermore, it is desirable that the drive control unit 205 changes the direction of the traveling speaker device 20 so that the speaker 22 faces the listening position.
Note that when the frequency characteristic, the sound pressure level, or the phase needs to be corrected, the reproducing unit 202 performs these corrections. Further, the control command may include data indicating the measurement result of the acoustic characteristics instead of the driving data. In this case, driving data of the own device is calculated in the traveling speaker device 20.

When the adjustment of the position or orientation in step S8 is completed, the measurement sound signal generation unit 204 generates a measurement sound signal again. Then, the reproduction unit 202 reproduces the measurement sound signal, thereby causing the speaker 22 to output the measurement sound (step S9).
In the content reproduction apparatus 10, the measurement unit 111 acquires a collected sound signal representing the measurement sound from the microphone MIC, and measures the acoustic characteristics of the acoustic space 100 (step S10). And the measurement part 111 determines whether the measurement result of an acoustic characteristic is favorable (step S11).
Note that the processing in steps S9 to S11 may be the same as the processing in steps S4 to S6.

  When the measurement unit 111 determines that the measurement result of the acoustic characteristics is good (step S11; YES), the content reproduction unit is provided on the condition that all the sound emitting devices in the acoustic system 1 have determined that the measurement result is good. 13 starts the reproduction of the content (step S12). And the signal processing part 15 transmits the channel base signal produced | generated by reproduction | regeneration of a content to the traveling type speaker apparatus 20 (step S13).

In the traveling speaker device 20, the channel base signal receiving unit 201 receives the channel base signal transmitted in step S13 (step S14). The reproducing unit 202 reproduces the received channel base signal (step S15). The processes in steps S13 to S15 are repeatedly performed during content reproduction.
Note that if the measurement unit 111 determines “NO” in step S11, the measurement unit 111 performs the processing subsequent to step S7 again to measure the acoustic characteristics and adjust the position or orientation of the traveling speaker device 20 (required). If there is, further correction of frequency characteristics, sound pressure level, or phase) is performed. When the measurement unit 111 determines in step S6 that the acoustic characteristic measurement result is good (step S6; YES). In step S12, the content playback unit 13 starts playback of the content.

<B: Control of the flying speaker device 30>
FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing the control of the flying speaker device 30 performed in the acoustic system 1. In the acoustic system 1, the control shown in FIG. 10 is performed for each flying speaker device 30. As shown in the upper part of FIG. 8, each of the flight speaker devices 30R and 30L is arranged on the left and right of the listening position here. In the present embodiment, the position shown in the upper part of FIG. 8 is used as a base for movement of the flying speaker device 30, but a position different from this may be used as the base.

First, the analysis unit 112 (control unit 11) of the content reproduction apparatus 10 analyzes the content to be reproduced (step S21). This analysis is performed in order to specify the object base signal reproduced by the content. Then, the analysis unit 112 identifies an object base signal to be reproduced by the flying speaker device 30 according to the analysis result (step S22). Here, the position of the flying speaker device 30 is fixed near the ceiling of the acoustic space 100 and is used as an alternative to the ceiling speaker.
In the case of content that does not require the reproduction of the object base signal, the content reproduction device 10 may not use the flying speaker device 30.

The command transmission unit 16 of the content reproduction device 10 transmits a start command to the flying speaker device 30 (step S23). The start command indicates an instruction to start control for setting the flying speaker device 30 to an appropriate position or orientation by the flight operation of the flying speaker device 30.
The start command may be transmitted based on the conditions described in step S1.

In the flying speaker device 30, when the command receiving unit 303 receives the start command, the drive control unit 305 controls the motors 32A to 32D so as to move the flying speaker device 30 to the destination point (step S24). The destination point is a position where the flying speaker device 30 should be originally installed or close to it according to an object base signal to be reproduced by the flying speaker device 30 (that is, a sound emitted by the flying speaker device 30). Set to position. The destination point is a point set by the user, for example, but may be determined in any way. The destination point may be, for example, a point directly above the base of movement of the flying speaker device 30 on the floor surface. The destination point may be determined in consideration of the shape and dimensions of the acoustic space 100.
When the flying speaker device 30 moves to the destination point, the flying speaker device 30 transmits a notification command to that effect to the content reproduction device 10.

  When the movement of the flying speaker device 30 to the destination point is completed, the command transmission unit 16 of the content reproduction device 10 transmits a measurement command to the flying speaker device 30 (step S25). In the flying speaker device 30, when the command receiving unit 303 receives the measurement command, the measurement sound signal generating unit 304 generates a measurement sound signal. The reproducing unit 302 outputs the measurement sound by reproducing the measurement sound signal supplied from the measurement sound signal generating unit 304 (step S26).

  In the content reproduction apparatus 10, the measurement unit 111 acquires a collected sound signal representing the measurement sound from the microphone MIC, and measures the acoustic characteristics of the acoustic space 100 (step S27). Next, the measurement unit 111 determines whether the measurement result of the acoustic characteristics is good (step S28). If the measurement unit 111 determines that the measurement result of the acoustic characteristics is not good for at least some items (step S28; NO), the command transmission unit 16 identifies the flight speaker device 30 based on the measurement result. A control command for setting the position or orientation to be transmitted is transmitted to the flying speaker device 30 (step S29). The control command includes, for example, drive data calculated from the measurement result of the acoustic characteristics. The control command may include data indicating the acoustic characteristic measurement result.

In the flying speaker device 30, when the command receiving unit 303 receives the control command, the drive control unit 305 adjusts the position or orientation of the flying speaker device 30 based on the control command (step S30). For example, when the speaker distance is larger than the target value, the drive control unit 305 moves the flying speaker device 30 so as to reduce the speaker distance so as to approach the target distance, and when the speaker distance is smaller than the target value, the speaker The flying speaker device 30 is moved so as to increase the distance to approach the target distance. Furthermore, the drive control unit 305 desirably changes the direction of the flying speaker device 30 so that the speaker 36 faces the listening position.
Note that when the frequency characteristic, the sound pressure level, or the phase needs to be corrected, the reproducing unit 202 may perform these corrections.

When the adjustment of the position in step S30 is completed, the measurement sound signal generation unit 304 generates a measurement sound signal again. Then, the reproducing unit 302 reproduces the measurement sound signal, thereby causing the speaker 36 to output the measurement sound (step S31).
In the content reproduction apparatus 10, the measurement unit 111 acquires a collected sound signal representing the measurement sound from the microphone MIC, and measures the acoustic characteristics of the acoustic space 100 (step S32). And the measurement part 111 determines whether the measurement result of an acoustic characteristic is favorable (step S33).
In addition, the process of step S31-S33 may be the same as the process of step S26-S28.

  When the measurement unit 111 determines that the measurement result of the acoustic characteristics is good (step S33; YES), the content is determined on the condition that all the sound emitting devices in the acoustic system 1 have determined that the measurement result is good. The playback unit 13 starts playback of the content (step S34). And the signal processing part 15 transmits the object base signal produced | generated by reproduction | regeneration of a content to the flight-type speaker apparatus 30 (step S35).

In the flying speaker device 30, the object base signal receiving unit 301 receives the object base signal transmitted in step S35 (step S36). The reproducing unit 302 reproduces the received object base signal (step S37). The processes in steps S35 to S37 are repeatedly performed during content reproduction.
If the measurement unit 111 determines “NO” in step S33, the process after step S29 is executed again to measure the acoustic characteristics and adjust the position of the flying speaker device 30 (if necessary). Further, frequency characteristics, sound pressure level, or phase correction) is performed. If the measurement unit 111 determines in step S28 that the measurement result of the acoustic characteristics is good (step S28; YES). In step S34, the content playback unit 13 starts playback of the content.

After the adjustment of the position and orientation of the flight speaker device 30 is completed, the drive control unit 305 performs a flight operation to maintain the flight speaker device 30 at the position and orientation by driving the motors 32A to 32D. Instead of this, the following configuration may be adopted.
As shown in FIG. 10, a hook 37 for fixing the flying speaker device 30 to the ceiling is provided at the center of the upper surface of the platform 31 of the flying speaker device 30. The hook 37 is a rod-like member with a bent tip. A ceiling hook 101 is provided on the ceiling of the acoustic space 100. In this case, after the hook 37 is hooked on the ceiling hook 101, the drive control unit 305 stops driving the motors 32A to 32D. The timing to stop driving is, for example, the timing determined by the flying speaker device 30 or the timing instructed to the flying speaker device 30 by a remote control operation or the like. Thereby, power consumption of the battery 306 is suppressed.
The fixing member for fixing the flight speaker device 30 to the ceiling is not limited to the hook, and a magnet, an adhesive material, or the like may be used.

<C: Movement of Flying Speaker Device 30 During Content Playback>
The drive control unit 305 of the flying speaker device 30 may move according to position information included in the object base signal reproduced by the reproduction unit 302. That is, during the reproduction of the object base signal, the drive control unit 305 moves the flying speaker device 30 to the position indicated by the position information added to the object base signal being reproduced. Thereby, the flying speaker device 30 moves along the locus of the position indicated by the position information in synchronization with the reproduction of the object base signal. As a result, a three-dimensional sound image localization in a three-dimensional space can be realized with only a single or a small number of flying speaker devices 30.

<D: Feedback control>
Next, feedback control performed by the traveling speaker device 20 and the flying speaker device 30 during the reproduction of the acoustic signal will be described. The feedback control is control that returns to the position of the charging device at a predetermined timing. Below, it demonstrates centering on the feedback control which the traveling type speaker apparatus 20 returns to the position of a charging device at the timing which reproduction | regeneration of an acoustic signal was complete | finished.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing feedback control performed by the traveling speaker device 20.
First, the drive control unit 205 determines whether or not the reproduction of the channel base signal has ended (step S41). For example, when the playback unit 202 stops the playback of the acoustic signal and a predetermined time has elapsed, or when the command receiving unit 203 receives a command indicating that the playback of the content has ended, the drive control unit 205 It is determined that the signal reproduction has ended.

  If “NO” is determined in the step S41, that is, if the channel base signal is being reproduced, the drive control unit 205 determines whether or not the remaining amount of the battery 207 is equal to or less than a threshold value (step S42). If the drive control unit 305 determines that the remaining amount exceeds the threshold (step S42; NO), the drive control unit 305 returns to step S41. In this case, the traveling speaker device 20 continuously reproduces the channel base signal.

  When it is determined “YES” in step S41, that is, when the reproduction of the channel base signal is completed, or when “YES” is determined in step S42, that is, when the remaining amount of the battery 207 is equal to or less than the threshold value, the drive control unit 205 Moves (returns) the traveling speaker device 20 to the position of the charging device 40 (step S43). The position of the charging device may be specified by a predetermined position, or may be specified by the traveling speaker device 20 searching for the position of the charging device 40. As a method for this search, there is a method in which the light beam emitted from the charging device is detected by a light receiving element provided in the traveling speaker device 20, but other methods may be employed.

  Then, when the traveling speaker device 20 is moved to the position of the charging device 40, the drive control unit 205 brings the charging terminal 208 into contact with the charging terminal 41 of the charging device 40 and starts charging the battery 207 (step S44). ). When the drive control unit 205 determines that the charging is completed, the driving control unit 205 may move the traveling speaker device 20 to a point before returning again.

  Also in the flying speaker device 30, feedback control is performed in the same procedure as the traveling speaker device 20. Regarding the feedback control of the flying speaker device 30, the “channel base signal” described above is set to the “object base signal”, the “drive control unit 205” is set to the “drive control unit 305”, and the “charging device 40” is set to “ It can be easily inferred from the contents read as “charging device 50”. However, charging of the flight speaker device 30 is started when the charging control unit 307 is brought close to the charging device 50.

  The traveling speaker device 20 and the flying speaker device 30 may return to the position of the charging device at a predetermined timing other than the timing at which the reproduction of the acoustic signal ends. As this timing, for example, timing at which content playback stops, such as timing scheduled in advance according to the remaining battery level, timing according to the content playback status (for example, timing at which intermission or disc change is performed, etc.) )

  According to the acoustic system 1 described above, since the traveling speaker device 20 and the flying speaker device 30 control the position and orientation by the power of the own device, an artificial burden related to the installation work of the speaker device is reduced. The Moreover, since the traveling speaker device 20 and the flying speaker device 30 adjust the position and orientation of the own device according to the acoustic characteristics measured based on the measurement sound, the acoustic characteristics in the acoustic space 100 can be optimized by the user. It can be realized while omitting the artificial work by. Furthermore, according to the acoustic system 1, it is possible to meet the need to install a sound emitting device only when necessary without permanently installing a large number of sound emitting devices. Furthermore, the traveling speaker device 20 and the flying speaker device 30 perform feedback control, so that the battery can be autonomously charged at an appropriate opportunity.

[Modification]
The present invention can be implemented in a form different from the above-described embodiment. The present invention can also be implemented in the following forms, for example. Further, the following modifications may be combined as appropriate.
(Modification 1)
The analysis of the content in step S21 and the allocation of the object base signal to be reproduced according to the result of the analysis in step S22 may be performed by the following method.
The analysis unit 112 may assign an object base signal to be reproduced in the flight type speaker device 30 based on the range (hereinafter referred to as “flight range”) of each flight type speaker device 30 to fly. For example, the flight range is set by the user through the operation of the operation unit 12 or is set according to the input of the size (width) of the acoustic space 100. At this time, the analysis unit 112 may assign an object base signal to be reproduced to a larger number of flight speaker devices 30 when the flight range of the flight speaker device 30 is narrower and to a smaller number of flight speaker devices 30 as the flight range is wider. Good.
The analysis unit 112 may assign an object base signal to be reproduced in the flight speaker device 30 based on performance information including the moving speed (flight speed) of each flight speaker device 30. The performance information is, for example, stored in advance in the flight speaker device 30 or acquired by the analysis unit 112 via a network. At this time, the analysis unit 112 may assign an object base signal to be reproduced to a larger number as the moving speed of the flying speaker device 30 is lower and to a smaller number of the flying speaker devices 30 as the moving speed is higher.
The analysis unit 112 may assign an object base signal to be reproduced to the flying speaker device 30 based on the moving speed (for example, the maximum value) of the sound source object. At this time, the analysis unit 112 may assign object base signals to be reproduced to a larger number of the flight-type speaker devices 30 as the moving speed of the sound source object is higher and as a lower speed as the moving speed of the sound source object is lower.
Note that a plurality of methods for assigning the object base signals to be reproduced as described above may be combined.
Thereby, in the acoustic system 1, the flying speaker device 30 to be used can be determined according to the content to be reproduced, and the behavior of the flying speaker device 30 being reproduced can be easily controlled appropriately.

(Modification 2)
The flying speaker device 30 provided with the flying means may be modified as described below.
FIG. 12 is a front view of the flying speaker device 30A. As shown in FIG. 12, the flying speaker device 30 </ b> A may include a speaker 36 whose horizontal direction is the sound emission direction. In this case, the drive control unit 205 can also change the sound emission direction by adjusting the direction in step S30 of the above-described embodiment. Even in this case, it is desirable that the drive control unit 305 adjust the orientation of the flying speaker device 30 so that the speaker 36 faces the direction of the listening position.
Further, the flying speaker device 30A may have a configuration in which the speaker 36 faces in another direction having a component in the horizontal direction. In addition, the flying speaker device 30A may be controlled to change its orientation while being fixed to the ceiling. In this case, the flying speaker device 30A performs a flying operation of moving the own device slightly upward in order to adjust the direction.

(Modification 3)
The flight speaker device 30 may stop the flight operation during the reproduction of the acoustic signal by a method other than the method of fixing to the ceiling. The flying speaker device 30 has, for example, furniture (for example, a chest, a bookshelf, etc.) installed at a position suitable as an arrangement position of the own device, and an empty area (that is, a landing space) where the own device can be arranged on the furniture. If it exists, the motors 32A to 32D are stopped driving after landing in this empty area.
The flying speaker device 30 does not change the position and orientation of its own device during content playback when the position and orientation of its own device are fixed. Therefore, the flight speaker device 30 may be connected to the channel base signal transmission unit 152 described with reference to FIG. 2 and emit sound based on the channel base signal. For example, the flying speaker device 30 is used as a sound emitting device that reproduces a channel base signal of a front channel or a surround channel (rear channel). In addition, when an upper speaker is required, such as a ceiling speaker or a 22.2ch upper speaker, the flying speaker device 30 functions as an upper speaker by fixing the position and orientation of its own device. May be.

(Modification 4)
FIG. 13 is a front view of the flying speaker device 30B. As shown in FIG. 13, the flying speaker device 30 </ b> B includes a speaker array device 60 instead of the speaker 36. The speaker array device 60 includes a rectangular parallelepiped housing and a plurality of speaker units 61 arranged in a matrix (row direction and column direction) on the front surface of the housing. The speaker unit 61 is connected to the platform 31 via the support member 35.
Note that the arrangement of the speaker units 61 in the speaker array device 60 is not limited to a matrix. In the speaker array device 60, speakers may be arranged according to a predetermined rule such as a honeycomb shape or a line shape. Further, the number of speaker units 61 included in the speaker array device 60 is not limited to the number shown in FIG.
In this case, the flying speaker device 30B causes the speaker array device 60 to output an acoustic beam generated in a beam shape by providing directivity.

Furthermore, the content reproduction device 10 may emit sound by linking a plurality of flight speaker devices 30B. As shown in FIG. 14, a plurality of flight-type speaker devices 30 </ b> B are arranged along the arrangement direction of the speaker units 61, so that a larger number of speaker units 61 than the speaker array device 60 alone are arranged along the same direction. To do. Thereby, the freedom degree of the output control of an acoustic beam increases. At this time, each of the plurality of flying speaker devices 30B may detect the position or distance of the adjacent flying speaker device 30B using a sensor (for example, an infrared sensor) and adjust the position of the own device. .
The traveling speaker device 20 may include a speaker array device instead of the speaker 22. In this case, the traveling speaker device 20 may perform the control described for the flying speaker device 30B.

(Modification 5)
The number and type of sound emitting devices included in the acoustic system 1 of the embodiment described above are merely examples. For example, a configuration in which one or a plurality of woofers are provided, a configuration in which a sound emitting device is compatible with 22.2 ch, or a configuration in which the number of flying speaker devices 30 is different from the above-described embodiment may be employed.

(Modification 6)
The command transmission unit 16 may transmit a command corresponding to the content information of the content that is the basis for generating the acoustic signal. The content information is information related to the content, and includes, for example, a content type or a prior instruction for each content instructed by the user. Examples of command types include genre information of content such as movies and news programs. The command transmission unit 16 transmits a command for controlling one or more of the presence / absence of use, the arrangement position, and the orientation of each sound emitting device according to the content information. For example, when the content genre is a movie, the command transmission unit 16 performs control to change the position or orientation of the sound emitting device, and when the content is a news program, performs control to change the position or orientation of the sound emitting device. Absent. The correspondence between the content information and the command transmitted by the command transmission unit 16 may be determined in advance, for example.

  The content reproduction apparatus 10 may use channel information as content information. In this case, for example, when the content is created with 5.1 ch support, the content playback device 10 uses the sound emitting device and one woofer described in FIG. 1 to create the content with 7.1 ch support. If so, use a total of 7 sound emitting devices and 1 woofer. When a plurality of sound emission devices are prepared in the sound system 1, the content reproduction device 10 uses the number of sound emission devices necessary for content reproduction and is arranged according to the content. Control the position or orientation of each sound emitting device.

(Modification 7)
For example, there may be a case where the number of sound emitting devices is insufficient due to reasons such as content being authored for 7.1 ch, 22 or 2 ch. In this case, the content reproduction device 10 arranges as many sound emitting devices as possible, and generates a channel base signal to be reproduced by each sound emitting device by downmixing the content according to an algorithm according to the arrangement. Also good.

(Modification 8)
The forms (appearance configuration, sound emission method) of the traveling speaker device 20 and the flying speaker device 30 described in the above-described embodiments are merely examples, and at least the position or orientation of the own device is changed. The driving means that operates, the means for emitting sound, the means for receiving an acoustic signal from an external acoustic device, the means for causing the sound emitting means to emit sound by reproducing the received acoustic signal, and the sound output means For example, the traveling loudspeaker device 20 does not include wheels as traveling means, but may include driving control means for controlling the driving means so as to change the position or orientation of the own apparatus in response to the sound. An endless track or air levitation may be provided as the traveling means. The traveling loudspeaker device 20 and the flying loudspeaker device 30 include detection means for detecting surrounding obstacles such as a camera, a stereo camera, or various sensors, and obstacles such as furniture based on the detection results of the detection means. You may move while avoiding.
Further, the acoustic device and the sound emitting device may be connected by wire.

In the embodiment described above, the traveling speaker device 20 and the flying speaker device 30 are included in the acoustic system 1, but an acoustic system including only one of them may be configured. In the acoustic system 1, the traveling speaker device 20 and a sound emitting device having no other traveling function may be used in combination. Moreover, in the acoustic system, the flight type speaker device 30 and a sound emitting device (for example, a ceiling speaker) having no other flight function may be used in combination. For example, a built-in speaker of a television is used instead of the traveling speaker devices 20FL and 20FR described in FIG. 1, and a speaker already fixedly installed in front of the television is used instead of the traveling speaker device 20C. May be used.
The traveling speaker device 20 may move during reproduction of the channel base signal, or may use the object base signal as a reproduction target. In the acoustic system 1, an acoustic signal that is not multi-channel may be reproduced. The audio system 1 may be an audio system that does not involve the output of a video signal. Moreover, the acoustic system 1 may be configured in an outdoor space.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sound system, 10 ... Content reproduction apparatus, 11 ... Control part, 111 ... Measurement part, 112 ... Analysis part, 12 ... Operation part, 13 ... Content reproduction part, 14 ... Video signal output IF, 15 ... Signal processing part, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 151 ... Acoustic signal input reception part, 152 ... Channel base signal transmission part, 153 ... Object base signal transmission part, 16 ... Command transmission part, 17 ... A / D converter, 20 ... Running-type speaker apparatus, 201 ... Channel base signal reception , 202 ... reproducing unit, 203 ... command receiving unit, 204 ... measurement sound signal generating unit, 205 ... drive control unit, 206A, 206B, 206C, 206D ... drive source, 207 ... battery, 208 ... charging terminal, 21 ... enclosure 22 ... Speakers, 23A, 23B, 23C, 23D ... Wheels, 30, 30A, 30B ... Flying speaker devices, 3 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Object base signal receiving part, 302 ... Reproducing part, 303 ... Command receiving part, 304 ... Measurement sound signal generation part, 305 ... Drive control part, 306 ... Battery, 307 ... Charge control part, 31 ... Platform, 32A, 32B 32C, 32D ... Motor, 33A, 33B, 33C, 33D ... Rotary blade, 34A, 34B ... Leg, 35 ... Support member, 36 ... Speaker, 37 ... Hook, 40 ... Charging device, 41 ... Charging terminal, 50 ... Charging device, 60 ... speaker array device, 61 ... speaker unit, 100 ... acoustic space, 101 ... ceiling hook

Claims (5)

Driving means operating to change the position or orientation of the device itself;
Sound emission means for emitting sound into the space;
Acoustic signal receiving means for receiving an acoustic signal from an external acoustic device;
Reproduction means for causing the sound emission means to emit sound by reproducing at least an acoustic signal received from the acoustic device;
A sound emission device comprising: drive control means for controlling the drive means so as to change the position or orientation of the own device according to the sound emitted from the sound emission means. The reproduction means reproduces the measurement sound signal to output the measurement sound from the sound emission means,
Command receiving means for receiving from the acoustic device a command for setting the position or orientation according to the acoustic characteristics of the space measured based on the measurement sound.
The sound emission device according to claim 1, wherein the drive control unit controls the drive unit according to the command received from the acoustic device. Position information indicating the position of the sound source at each time is added to the acoustic signal,
The sound emission device according to claim 1, wherein the drive control unit moves the device according to the position information added to the acoustic signal reproduced by the reproduction unit. An acoustic signal transmitting means for transmitting an acoustic signal to the sound emitting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A sound device comprising: command transmitting means for transmitting a command for operating the driving means to change the position or orientation of the sound emitting device to the sound emitting device. The acoustic device according to claim 4, wherein the command transmission unit transmits the command according to content information of a content that is a basis for generating the acoustic signal.

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