JP2018136472A - Language clarification device and loudspeaker broadcasting system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make possible to reduce the processing load of language clarification.SOLUTION: The language clarification device is provided which comprises; a fundamental tone extracting unit which divides a speech signal at predetermined time intervals and extracts a fundamental tone for each of the divided speech signals; a filter application unit which previously stores a filter generated based on the features of the formant, and determines an application frequency of the filter according to the pitch of the fundamental tone and the divided speech signal, and applies the filter to the divided speech signal; and a maximization processing unit which emphasizes a predetermined frequency band of the speech signal processed by the filter application unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a language clarification device and a loudspeaker broadcasting system.

  In various loudspeaker broadcasting systems such as a disaster prevention administrative radio system, there are roughly classified into a slave station that performs loudspeaker broadcasting using a loudspeaker and a master station that transmits information related to broadcast contents to the slave station. Here, for example, when the slave station is installed outdoors, it may be difficult for the user to hear the loudspeaker broadcast due to a bad external environment (noise (traffic noise, daily noise, etc.)).

  In order to deal with such an event, various researches have been conducted on techniques for clarifying loud-speaking broadcasting. For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a technique for realizing clarification by emphasizing formants in a disaster prevention administrative radio system or the like. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228867 discloses a technique for dividing a voice into phonemes, determining the necessity for emphasizing the voice, and correcting the voice using data stored in advance. Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for emphasizing formants using a formant filter bank set for each phoneme. Further, Patent Document 4 discloses a technique for emphasizing formants using a prepared database of filters for emphasizing formants.

JP, 2015-161911, A JP 2008-70564 A JP 2004-4952 A JP 2003-271200 A

  However, there is a problem that the processing load of language clarification tends to increase depending on the existing technology. For example, in the technique of Patent Document 1, a formant is extracted by spectrum shaping processing based on a spectrum envelope, and ambient noise is recorded by thinning out harmonics that do not affect the perception of speech in noise. The processing of redistributing the thinned harmonic energy to other important components is performed, but the processing load is high. Therefore, there is a possibility that a high-performance device is required or a processing delay occurs.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved language clarification device capable of further reducing the processing load of language clarification. And providing a loudspeaker broadcasting system.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to one aspect of the present invention, a sound signal is divided every predetermined time, and a basic sound extraction unit that extracts a basic sound for each divided sound signal is generated based on the characteristics of the formant. A filter processing unit that stores the filtered filter in advance, determines an applied frequency of the filter based on a pitch of the fundamental sound and the divided audio signal, and applies the filter to the divided audio signal; There is provided a language clarification device including a maximization processing unit that emphasizes a predetermined frequency band in an audio signal processed by a processing unit.

  The filter processing unit may determine a frequency equal to or higher than the frequency of the fundamental tone as the applied frequency.

  The filter may be a comb filter.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, a master station device that controls a slave station device for loudspeaker broadcasting, the slave station device that performs the loudspeaker broadcast, and audio of the loudspeaker broadcast A speech clarification device comprising: a fundamental sound extraction unit that divides a speech signal every predetermined time and extracts a fundamental tone for each of the divided speech signals A filter generated based on formant characteristics is pre-stored, an applied frequency of the filter is determined based on a pitch of the fundamental sound and the divided audio signal, and the filter is applied to the divided audio signal. A filter processing unit to be applied; and a maximization processing unit that emphasizes a predetermined frequency band in the audio signal processed by the filter processing unit, wherein the master station device includes the slave station A transmitter that transmits a signal including the audio signal to a device, and the slave station device includes: a receiver that receives the signal; and a ringing controller that controls the loudspeak broadcast based on the signal. A loudspeaker broadcasting system is provided.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it becomes possible to further reduce the processing load of language clarification.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the loud sound broadcasting system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the language clarification apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the process part of the language clarification apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of transition of the frequency to which a filter is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the main | base station which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the subunit | mobile_unit which concerns on this embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the operation | movement of the language clarification process by the language clarification apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the language clarification apparatus which concerns on this embodiment.

  Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

<1. Background>
As described above, various researches have been conducted on techniques for clarifying loud-sound broadcasting. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for realizing clarification by emphasizing formants in a disaster prevention administrative radio system or the like. In Patent Document 1, speech clarification is realized mainly by two techniques. One is a technique for adapting speech to noise characteristics by spectrum shaping based on a spectrum envelope. The other is a technique that thins out harmonics that do not affect the perception of speech in noise, and redistributes the energy of the thinned harmonics to other important components.

  However, the formant can be derived by the spectral envelope extraction process, the harmonics that do not affect the perception of speech in noise are thinned out, and the energy of the thinned harmonics can be redistributed to the remaining harmonics. The load required for processing is large. Further, in the present technology, when adapting speech to noise characteristics, noise collected in the vicinity where broadcasting is performed is used for clarification processing. However, if the broadcast area of the loudspeaker broadcasting system is wide and the noise characteristics at each broadcast point are different from each other, if the noise collected at only one place is used for clarification processing, It cannot sufficiently adapt to the noise characteristics at each point. In addition, if the clarification process is performed using noise at each broadcast point, the load required for the process further increases.

  In view of the above circumstances, the inventors of the present invention have arrived at the present invention. The language clarification device according to an embodiment of the present invention preliminarily stores filter characteristics generated based on formant features as templates. Then, the language clarification device divides the broadcast audio signal every predetermined time, extracts a fundamental tone of the divided speech signal (the definition of the fundamental tone will be described later), and applies an applied frequency of the filter based on the fundamental tone. To decide. Thereby, the language clarification device can further reduce the processing load of clarification.

  In the following, mainly, “2. Outline of the loudspeaker broadcasting system according to the present embodiment” “3. Functional configuration of each device” “4. Operation of language clarification device” “5. Hardware configuration of language clarification device” The embodiment will be described in detail in the order of "."

<2. Overview of Loudspeaker Broadcasting System According to this Embodiment>
The background of the present invention has been described above. Then, the outline | summary of the loud sound broadcasting system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.

(2-1. Configuration of loudspeaker broadcasting system)
First, with reference to FIG. 1, the structure of the loudspeaker broadcasting system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a loudspeaker broadcasting system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the loudspeaker broadcasting system according to the present embodiment includes a language clarification device 100, an operation console 200, a master station 300, and a slave station 400. The master station 300 includes an antenna 310 used for wireless communication, and the slave station 400 includes an antenna 410 used for wireless communication and a loudspeaker 420 used for loudspeaker broadcasting. Each function will be described below.

(Language Clarification Device 100)
The language clarification device 100 realizes clarification of the broadcasted audio by performing various processes on the audio signal used for the loudspeaker broadcasting. More specifically, the language clarification device 100 performs fundamental sound extraction processing, filtering processing, or maximization processing, etc., on an audio signal input by a person who performs a loud sound broadcast using a microphone or the like (not shown), The processed audio signal is provided to the console 200 described later. Details of processing by the language clarification device 100 will be described later.

(Operation console 200)
The console 200 is a device for performing various settings in loudspeaker broadcasting. More specifically, the console 200 is inputted with each broadcasting station 400 to be broadcasted, settings at the time of broadcasting, and the like by a person who carries out loud sound broadcasting. The console 200 provides information related to various settings and the audio signal provided from the language clarification device 100 to the master station 300 described later.

(Master station 300)
The master station 300 transmits information used for loudspeaker broadcasting as a radio signal. More specifically, the master station 300 generates a radio signal based on information input from the console 200, and uses the antenna 310 to transmit the radio signal to a relay station (not shown) or each slave station 400. Send to. It is assumed that there are a plurality of types of radio signals transmitted by the master station 300. For example, the master station 300 may transmit to the slave station 400 a signal for instructing loudspeaking broadcast, a signal including broadcast contents, a signal for instructing termination of the loudspeaking broadcast, and the like. Note that these signals are merely examples, and the signals transmitted are appropriately changed depending on the type or method of the loudspeaker broadcasting.

(Slave station 400)
The slave station 400 is a device that performs loudspeaker broadcasting. More specifically, the slave station 400 receives a radio signal from the master station 300 or the relay station using the antenna 410 and performs loudspeak broadcasting using information included in the signal. For example, the slave station 400 determines whether or not the local station is a broadcasting target based on information included in the radio signal, and reflects the operation setting included in the signal when the local station is the broadcasting target. In this state, loudspeaker broadcasting is performed using the loudspeaker 420. In this specification, the case where the slave station 400 is a fixed station installed on a road or a park will be described as an example, but the type of the slave station 400 is arbitrary.

(2-2. Function overview of the loudspeaker broadcasting system)
The configuration of the loudspeaker broadcasting system according to the present embodiment has been described above. Next, a functional overview of the loudspeaker broadcasting system according to the present embodiment will be described.

  The language clarification device 100 of the loudspeaker broadcasting system according to the present embodiment first stores a filter characteristic generated based on the formant characteristics as a template. Hereinafter, the stored filter characteristic template is described as a filter. The type of the filter is arbitrary. In this specification, description is made assuming that the filter is a comb filter. Then, when an audio signal is input by the person who performs the loudspeaker broadcasting, the language clarification device 100 divides the audio signal every predetermined time, and extracts the fundamental sound by analyzing the divided audio signal. Here, the fundamental tone refers to a sound having the lowest frequency when the audio signal is represented by a combination of a plurality of sine waves. Note that the predetermined time, which is the interval at which the audio signal is divided, refers to an arbitrary time. In this specification, for example, it is assumed that the interval at which the audio signal is divided is several tens [ms]. Yes.

  And the language clarification apparatus 100 applies the filter memorize | stored beforehand with respect to the frequency more than the frequency of a fundamental tone. As a result, the language clarification device 100 removes a component of a frequency band with low importance such as noise, while leaving a component of an important frequency band to be emphasized as a language for the divided audio signal. Can do.

  Basically, since the fundamental tone changes depending on the pitch, the language clarification device 100 determines a frequency to apply the filter for each divided speech signal according to each pitch (substantially, the fundamental tone). Is the same as determining the frequency to apply the filter according to). Thereby, the language clarification device 100 can appropriately cope with an audio signal whose pitch changes every moment.

  Thereafter, the language clarification device 100 performs a process of amplifying a predetermined band component in the audio signal after applying the filter. Since the amplitude of the speech signal decreases (in other words, the acoustic energy decreases) by removing the components of the less important frequency band by the application of the filter, the speech clarification device 100 and the decrease in the speech signal by the decrease amount. Amplification can be performed.

  When the slave station 400 performs loudspeaking broadcasting using the audio signal subjected to the above processing, the loudspeaker broadcasting system according to this embodiment has a poor external environment (noise (traffic noise, daily noise, etc.), rainfall, (Soundstorm, storm snow, typhoon, lightning strike, etc.) can be realized. Further, the process of applying the filter based on the pitch (substantially synonymous with the process of applying the filter based on the fundamental tone) has a lower load than the process according to Patent Document 1 (spectrum envelope extraction process or the like). Therefore, the loudspeaker broadcasting system according to the present embodiment can further reduce the processing load required for language clarification.

  Moreover, although the noise spectrum is not constant, the language clarification device 100 is not easily masked by the noise spectrum component by appropriately changing the applied frequency of the filter for each of the divided audio signals. Language clarification is possible.

  Moreover, the language clarification apparatus 100 should just be provided in the transmission source (the console 200 or the master station 300 grade | etc.) Side of the signal used for loud sound broadcasting, and does not need to be provided in the slave station 400 side. Thereby, resources required for installation, adjustment, maintenance or operation of the language clarification device 100 are reduced.

<3. Functional configuration of each device>
The function outline of the loudspeaker broadcasting system according to the present embodiment has been described above. Next, the functional configuration of each device will be described.

(Functional configuration of language clarification device 100)
First, with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the functional configuration of the language clarification device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the language clarification device 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the language clarification device 100 according to the present embodiment includes a switching unit 110 and a processing unit 120. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the processing unit 120 of the language clarification device 100 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the processing unit 120 according to the present embodiment includes a preprocessing unit 121, a fundamental tone extraction unit 122, a filter processing unit 123, and a maximize processing unit 124. Hereinafter, each functional configuration will be described.

(Switching unit 110)
The switching unit 110 switches whether to perform processing by the language clarification device 100 (hereinafter referred to as “language clarification processing” for convenience) on the audio signal. More specifically, when the switching unit 110 receives an audio signal and a switching control signal from an external device, the switching unit 110 receives the audio signal and the switching control signal when analyzing the switching control signal and determining that language clarification processing is required. The audio signals are sequentially provided to the processing unit 120, and when it is determined that language clarification processing is not required, the audio signals are sequentially provided to the console 200 without using the language clarification device 100. Note that, instead of the switching unit 110 receiving a switching control signal from an external device, a voice broadcaster operates an input unit (not shown; button, switch, touch panel, etc.) provided in the language clarification device 100. Thus, the switching unit 110 may generate the switching control signal by itself.

(Processing unit 120)
The processing unit 120 performs language clarification processing on the audio signal. As described above, the processing unit 120 includes the preprocessing unit 121, the fundamental tone extraction unit 122, the filter processing unit 123, and the maximize processing unit 124. Hereinafter, each functional configuration of the processing unit 120 will be described.

(Pre-processing unit 121)
The preprocessing unit 121 performs various processes on the audio signal, thereby realizing smooth processing in the subsequent process. Various processing includes arbitrary signal processing. For example, the preprocessing unit 121 performs amplification processing, smoothing processing, shaping processing, or the like on the audio signal. The preprocessing unit 121 provides the sound signal that has been subjected to various types of processing to a fundamental tone extraction unit 122 and a filter processing unit 123, which will be described later. Note that the preprocessing unit 121 may perform various processes again in response to feedback from the fundamental tone extraction unit 122 or the filter processing unit 123, or may change parameters used in the various processes.

(Fundamental tone extraction unit 122)
The fundamental tone extraction unit 122 extracts the fundamental tone of the audio signal. More specifically, the fundamental tone extraction unit 122 divides the speech signal that has been subjected to various processes by the preprocessing unit 121, and analyzes the signal to extract a fundamental tone for each of the divided speech signals. And the fundamental tone extraction part 122 provides the information regarding the fundamental tone for every divided | segmented audio | voice signal to the filter process part 123 mentioned later as a control signal.

(Filter processing unit 123)
The filter processing unit 123 performs a process of applying a filter to the audio signal (hereinafter referred to as “filter process” for convenience). More specifically, the filter processing unit 123 stores a filter generated based on the formant characteristics in advance, and is provided from the fundamental tone extraction unit 122 when an audio signal is provided from the preprocessing unit 121. Based on the control signal, a filter is applied to frequencies above the fundamental frequency.

  Here, the filtering process will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the transition of the frequency to which the filter is applied. First, the fundamental tone extraction unit 122 analyzes the speech signal at the time point 1 (for example, when the input of the speech signal is started), and extracts the fundamental tone. And the filter process part 123 applies a filter with respect to the frequency more than the frequency F0 of a fundamental tone, as shown to FIG. 4A. Then, the fundamental tone extraction unit 122 analyzes the audio signal at the time point 2 divided immediately after the time point 1. Since the pitch of the audio signal at time 1 and the pitch of the audio signal at time 2 are different from each other, the fundamental at time 1 and the fundamental at time 2 are different from each other. The fundamental tone extraction unit 122 extracts the fundamental tone of the audio signal at time point 2, and as illustrated in FIG. 4B, the filter processing unit 123 applies a filter to a frequency equal to or higher than the fundamental frequency F0 + α. Thereafter, the fundamental tone extraction unit 122 and the filter processing unit 123 perform the same processing on the audio signal at the time point 3 to filter the frequencies higher than the fundamental frequency F0-β as shown in FIG. 4C. Apply.

  In this way, the filter processing unit 123 can appropriately cope with an audio signal whose pitch changes every moment by changing the frequency to which the filter is applied according to the fundamental tone. it can. The filter processing unit 123 provides the audio signal subjected to the filter process to the maximize processing unit 124.

(Maximize processing unit 124)
The maximize processing unit 124 performs an amplification process (hereinafter referred to as “maximize process” for convenience) on the audio signal. More specifically, since the amplitude of the audio signal is reduced by the preceding filtering process, the maximizing processing unit 124 performs a maximizing process that amplifies the frequency band component important for speech recognition by the reduced amount.

(Functional configuration of master station 300)
The functional configuration of the language clarification device 100 has been described above. Next, the functional configuration of the master station 300 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the master station 300 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the master station 300 includes a wired communication unit 320, a generation unit 330, a wireless communication unit 340, and a control unit 350. In addition, the wireless communication unit 340 includes an antenna 310. Hereinafter, each functional configuration will be described.

(Wired communication unit 320)
The wired communication unit 320 is an interface to a wired network that receives information used for loud sound broadcasting from the console 200. More specifically, when the person who performs the loudspeaker broadcasts, using the console 200, inputs each slave station 400 to be broadcasted, settings at the time of broadcasting, and the like, the wired communication unit 320 displays these information. Is received from the console 200 and provided to the generation unit 330 described later.

(Generator 330)
The generating unit 330 generates various signals based on information received by the wired communication unit 320. More specifically, the generation unit 330 generates a signal for instructing loudspeaking broadcast, a signal including broadcast contents, a signal for instructing the end of the loudspeaking broadcast, and the like, and these signals are transmitted to the wireless communication unit 340 to be described later. provide.

(Wireless communication unit 340)
The radio communication unit 340 functions as a transmission unit that transmits a radio signal to the slave station 400. Specifically, the radio communication unit 340 converts various signals provided from the generation unit 330 into radio signals by the antenna 310 and transmits the radio signals.

(Control unit 350)
The control unit 350 comprehensively controls various processes in the master station 300. For example, when various information used for loudspeaker broadcasting is provided from console 200, control unit 350 controls each functional configuration to transmit a signal including information used for loudspeaker broadcast to slave station 400. .

(Functional configuration of slave station 400)
The functional configuration of the master station 300 has been described above. Next, the functional configuration of the slave station 400 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the slave station 400 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the slave station 400 includes a wireless communication unit 430, a control unit 440, and a ringing control unit 450. The wireless communication unit 430 includes an antenna 410, and the ringing control unit 450 includes a loudspeaker 420. Hereinafter, each functional configuration will be described.

(Wireless communication unit 430)
The wireless communication unit 430 functions as a receiving unit that receives a wireless signal from the master station 300. More specifically, the wireless communication unit 430 receives the wireless signal transmitted from the master station 300 by the antenna 410, and performs demodulation processing or decoding processing on the signal to obtain information used for loudspeaker broadcasting. get. The wireless communication unit 430 provides the information to the control unit 440 described later.

(Control unit 440)
The control unit 440 comprehensively controls various processes in the slave station 400. For example, the control unit 440 realizes the sound broadcasting by providing the information provided from the wireless communication unit 430 to the ringing control unit 450. Note that the control unit 440 performs various processes on the information provided from the wireless communication unit 430 and generates a signal for controlling the ring control unit 450 based on the information, thereby causing the ring control unit 450 to operate. Or may be controlled.

(Ring control unit 450)
The ringing control unit 450 performs control related to loud sound broadcasting. More specifically, the ringing control unit 450 realizes the loudspeaker broadcasting by controlling the loudspeaker 420 based on information provided from the control unit 440.

<4. Operation of language clarification device>
In the above, the functional configuration of each device has been described. Next, the operation of language clarification processing will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing an operation of language clarification processing by the language clarification device 100 according to the present embodiment.

  In step S1000, the preprocessing unit 121 performs various types of processing (amplification processing, smoothing processing, shaping processing, etc.) on the audio signals that are sequentially input. In step S <b> 1004, the preprocessing unit 121 sequentially provides the sound signal subjected to various processes to the fundamental extraction unit 122, and in step S <b> 1008, the preprocessing unit 121 sequentially provides the sound signal to the filter processing unit 123. In step S1012, the fundamental tone extraction unit 122 divides the speech signal every predetermined time. In step S1016, the fundamental tone extraction unit 122 extracts the fundamental tone for each of the divided speech signals. In step S <b> 1020, the fundamental tone extraction unit 122 generates a control signal including information related to the fundamental tone for each divided audio signal, and provides the signal to the filter processing unit 123.

  In step S1024, the filter processing unit 123 performs filter processing on the audio signal divided by applying a filter to a frequency equal to or higher than the frequency of the fundamental tone based on the control signal. In step S1028, the filter processing unit 123 provides the audio signal after the filter processing to the maximize processing unit 124. In step S1032, the maximize processing unit 124 performs a maximize process for amplifying a predetermined band component on the audio signal. Thereafter, the maximize processing unit 124 provides the console 200 with the audio signal after performing the maximize processing.

  The above is the operation of the language clarification processing by the language clarification device 100. Note that the operation shown in FIG. 7 is continuously performed as long as an audio signal is input. Further, the operations shown in FIG. 7 may be performed in parallel. For example, pre-processing by the pre-processing unit 121 (step S1000), division of an audio signal by the fundamental tone extraction unit 122 (step S1012) or fundamental tone extraction processing (step S1016), filter processing by the filter processing unit 123 (step S1024), or The maximize processing (step S1032) by the maximize processing unit 124 may be performed in parallel. As a result, since the audio signal input to the language clarification device 100 can be processed smoothly one after another, it is possible to carry out a loudspeaker broadcast without delay or interruption of the audio. Note that the operation described above is merely an example, and can be appropriately performed.

<5. Hardware configuration of language clarification device>
Heretofore, the description of the operation of language clarification processing has been described. Subsequently, a hardware configuration of the language clarification device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the language clarification device 100 according to the present embodiment, and the language clarification device 100 is embodied by the information processing device 900 shown in FIG. The information processing apparatus 900 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 901, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 902, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 903, a host bus 904, a bridge 905, an external bus 906, an interface 907, , An input device 908, an output device 909, a storage device 910, and a communication device 911.

  The CPU 901 functions as an arithmetic processing device and a control device, and controls the overall operation in the information processing device 900 according to various programs. Further, the CPU 901 may be a microprocessor. The ROM 902 stores programs used by the CPU 901, calculation parameters, and the like. The RAM 903 temporarily stores programs used in the execution of the CPU 901, parameters that change as appropriate during the execution, and the like. These are connected to each other by a host bus 904 including a CPU bus or the like. The switching unit 110, the processing unit 120, the preprocessing unit 121, the fundamental tone extraction unit 122, the filter processing unit 123, or the maximize processing unit 124 of the language clarification device 100 can be implemented by the CPU 901.

  The host bus 904 is connected to an external bus 906 such as a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect / Interface) bus via a bridge 905. Note that the host bus 904, the bridge 905, and the external bus 906 are not necessarily configured separately, and these functions may be mounted on one bus.

  The input device 908 includes an input means for inputting information such as a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, a button, a microphone, a switch, and a lever, and an input control circuit that generates an input signal based on the input by the user and outputs the input signal to the CPU 901. Etc. A user who operates the information processing apparatus 900 can input various data or instruct a processing operation to the information processing apparatus 900 by operating the input device 908.

  The output device 909 includes, for example, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display device, a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) device, a display device such as a lamp, and an audio output device such as a speaker.

  The storage device 910 is a device for storing data. The storage device 910 may include a storage medium, a recording device that records data on the storage medium, a reading device that reads data from the storage medium, a deletion device that deletes data recorded on the storage medium, and the like. The storage device 910 is composed of, for example, a flash memory. The storage device 910 may drive a flash memory and store programs executed by the CPU 901 and various data.

  The communication device 911 is a communication interface configured with, for example, a communication device for connecting to a network. The communication device 911 may be a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) compatible communication device or a wire communication device that performs wired communication.

<6. Conclusion>
As described above, the language clarification device 100 according to the present embodiment divides a speech signal at predetermined time intervals, extracts a fundamental tone for each of the divided speech signals, and applies a frequency higher than the fundamental tone frequency. Apply a pre-stored filter. As a result, the language clarification device 100 removes components of a frequency band with low importance such as noise, while leaving components of important frequency bands to be emphasized as language for each of the divided audio signals. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately cope with an audio signal whose pitch changes every moment.

  Note that the noise spectrum is not constant, but by appropriately changing the applied frequency of the filter for each divided speech signal, the language clarification device 100 is less likely to be masked by the noise spectrum component. Language clarification is possible.

  Then, when the slave station 400 performs loudspeaker broadcasting using the speech signal after the language clarification process, the loudspeaker broadcast system according to the present embodiment has a poor external environment (noise (traffic noise, daily noise, etc.), rainfall It is possible to realize loudspeaker broadcasting that is easy for the user to hear even in the case of storm, storm snow, typhoon, lightning, etc. Also, the process of applying the filter based on the pitch (substantially synonymous with the process of applying the filter based on the fundamental tone) has a lower load than the process according to Patent Document 1, and thus the loudspeaker broadcast according to the present embodiment. The system can further reduce the processing load required for language clarification.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can come up with various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. Of course, it is understood that these also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

  For example, the functional configuration of each device may be provided in an external device as appropriate. For example, each of the switching unit 110, the preprocessing unit 121, the fundamental tone extraction unit 122, the filter processing unit 123, and the maximize processing unit 124 of the language clarification device 100 may be appropriately provided in an external device.

  Moreover, the positional relationship of each apparatus or the aspect of cooperation can be changed suitably. For example, the language clarification device 100 may be provided on the side of the slave station 400 instead of the source of the loudspeaker broadcast signal (such as the console 200 or the master station 300). As a result, the speaker of the loudspeaker broadcast can change the parameter of language clarification processing, the type of filter, and the like for each slave station 400, so that the situation of noise generation at the location where each slave station 400 is installed. Corresponding language clarification can be realized. Further, the function of the language clarification device 100 may be included in any of the console 200, the master station 300, or the slave station 400.

  Moreover, the communication system in the above may be changed as appropriate. For example, the master station 300 and the slave station 400 may perform wired communication instead of wireless communication, and the language clarification device 100, the console 200, or the master station 300 may perform wireless communication instead of wired communication. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Language clarification apparatus 110 Switching part 120 Processing part 121 Pre-processing part 122 Fundamental sound extraction part 123 Filter processing part 124 Maximize processing part 200 Console 300 Master station 310 Antenna 320 Wired communication part 330 Generation part 340 Wireless communication part 350 Control part 400 Slave station 410 Antenna 420 Loudspeaker 430 Wireless communication unit 440 Control unit 450 Ring control unit

Claims (4)

A fundamental sound extraction unit that divides a speech signal every predetermined time and extracts a fundamental tone for each of the divided speech signals;
A filter generated based on the formant characteristics is stored in advance, an applied frequency of the filter is determined based on a pitch of the fundamental sound and the divided audio signal, and the filter is applied to the divided audio signal. A filter processing unit;
A maximize processing unit that emphasizes a predetermined frequency band in the audio signal processed by the filter processing unit,
Language clarification device. The filter processing unit determines a frequency equal to or higher than the frequency of the fundamental tone as the applied frequency;
The language clarification device according to claim 1. The filter is a comb filter;
The language clarification device according to claim 1. A loudspeaker broadcasting system comprising: a master station device that controls a slave station device for loudspeaker broadcasting; the slave station device that performs the loudspeaker broadcast; and a language clarification device that clarifies the voice of the loudspeaker broadcast,
The language clarification device comprises:
A fundamental sound extraction unit that divides a speech signal every predetermined time and extracts a fundamental tone for each of the divided speech signals;
A filter generated based on the formant characteristics is stored in advance, an applied frequency of the filter is determined based on a pitch of the fundamental sound and the divided audio signal, and the filter is applied to the divided audio signal. A filter processing unit;
A maximize processing unit that emphasizes a predetermined frequency band in the audio signal processed by the filter processing unit,
The master station device is
A transmission unit for transmitting a signal including the audio signal to the slave station device;
The slave station device is
A receiver for receiving the signal;
A sound control unit for controlling the loudspeaker broadcast based on the signal,
Amplified broadcasting system.

Images