JP2021125744A - Sound reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a novel system capable of making various animals including pets enjoy with sounds.SOLUTION: A sound reproducing device comprises: a plurality of slave unit speakers including a sound data reception part receiving sound data as a digital signal; and a master unit structured so as to be capable of transmitting the sound data by a first communication system to each of the slave unit speakers. The master unit comprises: a sound source storage part storing the sound data; a sound data transmission part structured so as to be capable of transmitting the sound data to the slave unit speaker; and an output destination speaker determination part that determines an output destination speaker at a switching timing on the basis of speaker switching information related to a switching method of the output destination speaker determined from among output destination candidates of the sound data including the plurality of slave unit speakers. The sound data transmission part selectively outputs the sound data to the output destination speaker determined by the output destination speaker determination part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a sound providing system, particularly to a system provided to animals other than humans.

Conventionally, various items for entertaining pets have been developed. For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a toy having a band-shaped member that is stored inside a bag when folded and having a function of producing a sound when the bag is pressed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-135931

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel system capable of entertaining various animals including pets through sound.

The sound providing system according to the present invention is
It has a sound data receiving unit that receives sound data that is a digital signal, and a sound output unit that converts the sound data received by the sound data receiving unit into a vibration signal and outputs it, and is configured to be portable. , Multiple slave unit speakers,
A master unit configured to be able to transmit the sound data to the plurality of slave unit speakers by the first communication method is provided.
The master unit is
The sound source storage unit in which the sound data is stored and
A sound data transmission unit configured to be able to transmit the sound data to the slave unit speaker by the first communication method.
Speaker switching information storage unit that stores speaker switching information, which is information on a switching method of the sound data output destination speaker, which is determined from among the sound data output destination candidates including the plurality of slave unit speakers. When,
It is provided with an output destination speaker determination unit that determines the output destination speaker at a switching timing based on the speaker switching information stored in the speaker switching information storage unit.
The sound data transmission unit is characterized in that the sound data is selectively output to the output destination speaker determined by the output destination speaker determination unit.

According to the above configuration, sound data is selectively output from the slave unit speaker switched and selected from the plurality of slave unit speakers based on the speaker switching information stored in the master unit. That is, the slave unit speaker, which is the output destination of the sound data, is switched based on the signal from the master unit.

The "speaker switching information" may contain information regarding a predetermined or randomly set switching time interval, or may contain information regarding a set switching time. I do not care. In the latter case, when an instruction to "switch immediately" is sent from the outside, the "current time" or a time substantially close to the current time (for example, 1 to several seconds after the current time) is set. Is included. Further, the "speaker switching information" may also specify the switching order of the output destination speakers, such as speaker A → speaker B → speaker C.

When sound is output from a speaker, target animals such as dogs and other pets may be interested in the speaker that is the source of the sound, and in some cases, may approach the speaker installation side. May bark (squeal). For this reason, it is assumed that the target animal will change the direction of the line of sight, change the direction of walking or running, and bark (squeal) each time the sound source is switched between the multiple slave unit speakers. Will be done. This can entertain the target animal and contribute to the elimination of lack of exercise.

The master unit may have a speaker function. In this case, in addition to the plurality of slave unit speakers, the master unit (master unit speaker) is also a candidate for sound data output destination, and the vibration signal (acoustic signal) corresponding to the sound data is switched from these speakers at a predetermined timing. ) Is output.

The target animals are assumed to be pets, livestock, animals kept in zoos, or protected animals. Mammals and birds are assumed as these animals, and more specifically, dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, cows, pigs, chickens, horses and the like are assumed, and dogs are preferable.

The above-mentioned first communication method is not particularly limited as long as sound data can be transmitted between the master unit and the slave unit speaker, but is, for example, DECT (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Wi-Fi. (Registered trademark) etc. are available. In particular, a method compliant with DECT is also adopted as a communication method for a digital cordless telephone, and is useful in that sound data can be transmitted and received by a simple system.

The sound source storage unit may store the sound data in units of music, or may store the sound data as fragmentary partial data of the music. In the latter case, the master unit may download the sound data from a predetermined server (which may be a cloud server described later) and output the sound data to the slave unit speaker by streaming.

The sound data is not limited to "music" including so-called three elements (rhythm, melody, harmony), and may be single sound data, such as natural sounds, mechanical sounds, animal calls, and human voices. It may be data, or may be data containing a plurality of these.

The sound providing system has a state information acquisition unit configured to acquire state information regarding the motion state of a target animal which is a non-human animal and to transmit the state information to the master unit.
The master unit is
A switching effect information creating unit that creates switching effect information in which the state information of the target animal transmitted from the state information acquisition unit and the speaker switching information are associated with each other.
Based on the switching influence information, the speaker switching information creating unit for creating the speaker switching information for bringing the motion state of the target animal closer to the target motion state and storing the speaker switching information storage unit is provided. It doesn't matter.

Depending on the target animal, there may be individual differences in the switching timing of the speaker from which sound data is output. More specifically, for example, from those who prefer to switch speakers that output sound data in a relatively short period of time, if it is too short, they sit or lie down without showing interest. As it is, there may be some that do not respond. Further, depending on the target animal, there may be one that shows interest when the output destination speaker is switched at regular intervals, and one that shows high interest when the switching interval of the output destination speaker fluctuates.

The master unit is provided with a switching influence information creation unit that creates information (switching influence information) in which information on the motion state of the target animal (state information) and information on the speaker switching method (speaker switching information) are associated with each other. There is. For example, the master unit can create switching influence information in which the switching timing preferred by a specific target animal is described by checking the motion state of the target animal while changing the switching timing of the output destination speaker in various ways. .. More specifically, switching the output destination speaker at intervals of 10 seconds improves the motility of the target animal, while switching the output destination speaker at intervals of 3 seconds or less causes the target animal to sit down. Information is acquired.

That is, according to the above configuration, effective speaker switching information can be selected according to the target movement state of the target animal such as "entertain" or "calm down", so that the target animal can be brought closer to the movement state desired by the owner. be able to.

A sensor, a microphone, a camera, or the like can be used as the state information acquisition unit. More specifically, accelerometers, infrared sensors, and cameras that detect the movement of the target animal, microphones that detect that the target animal barks (squeals) in a specific direction, and the target animal touches a specific location. A pressure-sensitive sensor, a vibration sensor, etc. that detect licking can be used.

The state information acquisition unit may be built in the slave unit speaker, provided along with the slave unit speaker, or attached to the target animal. When the master unit exhibits the speaker function, the state information acquisition unit may be built in the master unit speaker or provided in association with the master unit speaker.

The speaker switching information creation unit may create the speaker switching information based on the switching timing information which is information on the switching timing of the output destination speaker, and store the speaker switching information storage unit in the speaker switching information storage unit.

In this case, the sound providing system may have an external terminal that accepts the input of the switching timing information. According to such a configuration, the output destination speaker can be changed according to the switching timing set by the external terminal.

The external terminal has a configuration that accepts input of information regarding the target exercise state.
The speaker switching information creating unit may create the speaker switching information based on the information regarding the target motion state input from the external terminal.

According to such a configuration, effective speaker switching information can be selected according to the target movement state of the target animal set by the external terminal, so that the target animal can be brought closer to the movement state desired by the owner.

The master unit is composed of a master unit speaker configured to be portable and having a sound output unit that converts the sound data received by the sound data receiving unit into a vibration signal and outputs the sound data.
The speaker switching information is information on a method of switching the output destination speaker, which is determined from among the output destination candidates of the sound data including the plurality of the slave unit speakers and the master unit speaker.
When the output destination speaker determined by the output destination speaker determination unit is the slave unit speaker, the sound data transmission unit selectively selects the slave unit speaker via the first communication method. When the sound data is output and the output destination speaker determined by the output destination speaker determination unit is the master unit speaker, the sound data is selectively output to the sound output unit of the master unit speaker. It may be output.

According to the above configuration, the sound data output destination speaker is switched from among the plurality of slave unit speakers and the master unit speaker based on the signal from the master unit. As a result, a wider variety of acoustic signal switching is realized.

When the master unit realizes the speaker function, the output destination speaker of sound data can be switched from a plurality of output destination candidates even if the slave unit speaker is independent. From this point of view, the sound providing system according to the present invention is
It has a sound data receiving unit that receives sound data that is a digital signal, and a sound output unit that converts the sound data received by the sound data receiving unit into a vibration signal and outputs it, and is configured to be portable. , Slave unit speaker,
The slave unit speaker is provided with a master unit configured to be capable of transmitting the sound data by the first communication method.
The master unit is composed of a master unit speaker configured to be portable and having a sound output unit that converts the sound data received by the sound data receiving unit into a vibration signal and outputs the sound data.
The master unit is
The sound source storage unit in which the sound data is stored and
A sound data transmission unit configured to be able to transmit the sound data to the slave unit speaker by the first communication method.
Speaker switching in which speaker switching information, which is information on a switching method of the sound data output destination speaker, which is determined from the sound data output destination candidates including the slave unit speaker and the master unit speaker, is stored. Information storage unit and
It is provided with an output destination speaker determination unit that determines the output destination speaker at a switching timing based on the speaker switching information stored in the speaker switching information storage unit.
When the output destination speaker determined by the output destination speaker determination unit is the slave unit speaker, the sound data transmission unit selectively selects the slave unit speaker via the first communication method. When the sound data is output and the output destination speaker determined by the output destination speaker determination unit is the master unit speaker, the sound data is selectively output to the sound output unit of the master unit speaker. It may be output.

The master unit may be configured to selectively output sound data while changing the output destination speaker based on the sound data and speaker switching information transmitted from the cloud server. That is, the sound providing system includes a cloud server configured to be able to communicate with the master unit by a second communication method.
The cloud server
A speaker information storage unit in which identification information of a plurality of the slave unit speakers is stored, and
A switching timing information storage unit that stores switching timing information, which is information related to the switching timing of the output destination speaker, and
A speaker switching information creation unit that creates the speaker switching information based on the identification information of the plurality of slave unit speakers and the switching timing information is provided.
The master unit is
The speaker switching information transmitted from the cloud server by the second communication method is stored in the speaker switching information storage unit, and the speaker switching information is stored in the speaker switching information storage unit.
The sound data transmitted from the cloud server by the second communication method may be stored in the sound source storage unit.

According to the above configuration, the speaker switching information and sound data are downloaded from the cloud server to the master unit, and the system is operated. Therefore, for example, general-purpose sound data stored in the cloud server in advance according to the type of the target animal and information on the switching timing can be used on the master unit side as initial information. In addition, since various sound data stored in the cloud server and information on the switching timing can be used, it is possible to learn the sound data preferred by the target animal and the switching method.

The above-mentioned second communication method is not particularly limited as long as sound data and speaker switching information can be transmitted between the master unit and the cloud server, but for example, the Internet, Wi-Fi (registered trademark), etc. are used. It is possible. That is, the same communication method as the first communication method may be adopted as the second communication method.

The sound providing system is configured to acquire state information regarding the motion state of a target animal, which is a non-human animal, and to transmit the state information directly or via the master unit to the cloud server. Has an acquisition department
The cloud server has a switching influence information creating unit that creates switching influence information in which the state information of the target animal transmitted from the state information acquisition unit and the speaker switching information are associated with each other.
The speaker switching information creating unit may create the speaker switching information for bringing the motion state of the target animal closer to the target motion state based on the switching influence information and store it in the speaker switching information storage unit. No.

The state information acquisition unit may be built in the slave unit speaker, provided along with the slave unit speaker, or composed of a sensor attached to the target animal. When the master unit exhibits the speaker function, the state information acquisition unit may be built in the master unit speaker or provided in association with the master unit speaker.

The speaker switching information creation unit may create the speaker switching information based on the switching timing information which is information on the switching timing of the output destination speaker, and store the speaker switching information storage unit in the speaker switching information storage unit.

In this case, the sound providing system may have an external terminal that accepts the input of the switching timing information. According to such a configuration, the output destination speaker can be changed according to the switching timing set by the external terminal. The switching timing information may be configured so that it can be input by the master unit.

Further, also in the above configuration, the master unit has a sound output unit that converts the sound data received by the sound data receiving unit into a vibration signal and outputs the sound data, and is configured to be portable. It may be composed of speakers. In this case
The speaker information storage unit stores identification information of a plurality of the slave unit speakers and the master unit speaker.
The speaker switching information is information on a method of switching the output destination speaker, which is determined from among the output destination candidates of the sound data including the plurality of the slave unit speakers and the master unit speaker.
When the output destination speaker determined by the output destination speaker determination unit is the slave unit speaker, the sound data transmission unit of the master unit transmits the slave unit speaker via the first communication method. Selectively output the sound data, and when the output destination speaker determined by the output destination speaker determination unit is the master unit speaker, the sound output unit of the master unit speaker is selectively output. The sound data may be output.

According to the sound providing system of the present invention, a novel system capable of entertaining various animals such as pets through sound is realized.

It is a block diagram which shows typically the structure of 1st Embodiment of the sound providing system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically the structure of the 2nd Embodiment of the sound providing system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically another configuration of the 2nd Embodiment of the sound providing system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically another configuration of the 2nd Embodiment of the sound providing system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically another configuration of the 2nd Embodiment of the sound providing system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically another configuration of the 2nd Embodiment of the sound providing system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically the structure of the 3rd Embodiment of the sound providing system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically another configuration of the 3rd Embodiment of the sound providing system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically the structure of the 4th Embodiment of the sound providing system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically another structure of 4th Embodiment of the sound providing system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically another structure of 4th Embodiment of the sound providing system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically another structure of 4th Embodiment of the sound providing system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically another structure of 4th Embodiment of the sound providing system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically another configuration of another embodiment of the sound providing system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically another configuration of another embodiment of the sound providing system of this invention.

[First Embodiment]
The first embodiment of the sound providing system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This sound providing system is preferably used for applications that utilize sound to influence the behavior of non-human animals such as pets, livestock, zoo-reared animals, and protected animals.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the first embodiment of the sound providing system of the present invention. The sound providing system 1 includes a master unit 10 and a plurality of slave unit speakers 20 (20a, 20b, ...). Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the target animal 2 is a dog will be described as an example.

<Slave unit speaker 20>
In the present embodiment, the sound providing system 1 includes a plurality of slave unit speakers 20 (20a, 20b, ...). Hereinafter, when each slave unit speaker (20a, 20b, ...) Is referred to without distinction, it may be simply described as "slave unit speaker 20". In the present embodiment, the number of slave unit speakers 20 included in the sound providing system 1 is not limited. The same applies to the following embodiments.

The slave unit speaker 20 has a configuration capable of communicating with the master unit 10 via communication N1. The communication N1 corresponds to the "first communication method", and for example, DECT (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and the like can be used.

The slave unit speaker 20 includes a sound data receiving unit 21 and a sound output unit 22. The sound data receiving unit 21 receives the sound data iM transmitted from the master unit 10 via the communication N1. The sound data iM is digital data in which a sound signal is described, and the file format may be any of uncompressed audio, lossy compressed audio, and lossy compressed audio. The sound output unit 22 converts the sound data iM, which is digital data, into an acoustic signal wM (corresponding to a “vibration signal”), which is a mode that can be heard by the target animal 2, and outputs the sound data iM. The plurality of slave unit speakers (20a, 20b, ...) Are installed at positions separated from each other within the range audible from the target animal 2.

As will be described later, the sound providing system 1 selectively switches the output destination speaker from among a plurality of slave unit speakers (20a, 20b, ...), While the sound signal wM corresponding to the sound data iM (hereinafter referred to as “)”. It is simply described as "acoustic signal wM").

<Master unit 10>
The master unit 10 includes a sound source storage unit 11, a sound data transmission unit 12, a speaker switching information storage unit 13, and an output destination speaker determination unit 14.

The sound source storage unit 11 is a storage area for storing sound data iM, and is composed of a storage medium such as a flash memory or a hard disk. The sound data transmission unit 12 is an interface that converts the sound data iM stored in the sound source storage unit 11 into a file format that can be transmitted via the communication N1 and transmits the sound data iM.

The speaker switching information storage unit 13 stores a storage area (hereinafter, referred to as “speaker switching information i13”) regarding a switching method of the slave unit speakers (20a, 20b, ...) Which is an output destination of the acoustic signal wM. It is composed of a storage medium such as a flash memory or a hard disk. The speaker switching information i13 is information in which the switching cycle, the number of switching times, the switching order, and the like are described. As an example, the speaker switching information i13 describes information such that the control of switching the output destination speaker in the order of the slave unit speaker 20a, the slave unit speaker 20b, ... Is repeated 10 times every 30 seconds of the switching cycle.

Regarding the switching method, the switching cycle, the number of switching times, and the switching order may be randomly changed. In this case, the values corresponding to the switching cycle, the number of switching times, and the switching order may be determined based on the values created by the random number generation means (not shown).

The output destination speaker determination unit 14 selects the current output destination speaker from a plurality of slave unit speakers (20a, 20b, ...) Based on the speaker switching information i13 transmitted from the speaker switching information storage unit 13. It is an arithmetic processing unit that is determined by the above, and is composed of dedicated software and / or hardware. For example, the output destination speaker determination unit 14 includes a time measuring means such as a timer or a clock (not shown), and is based on the elapsed time measured by the time measuring means and the contents described in the speaker switching information i13. The output destination speaker is sequentially selected and determined from a plurality of slave unit speakers (20a, 20b, ...). The output destination speaker determination unit 14 sequentially transmits information regarding the determined output destination speaker (referred to as “speaker determination information i14”) to the sound data transmission unit 12.

The sound data transmission unit 12 refers to the output destination speaker specified from among the plurality of slave unit speakers (20a, 20b, ...) Based on the speaker determination information i14 determined by the output destination speaker determination unit 14. , Sound data iM is transmitted via communication N1.

According to the above configuration, the target animal 2 recognizes that the slave unit speaker 20 from which the acoustic signal wM is output changes with the passage of time. Depending on the target animal 2, the habit of visually recognizing the direction in which the sound is emitted, approaching, barking (squealing), etc. is shown. Therefore, by installing the plurality of slave unit speakers 20 at separate positions, the target animal 2 shakes its head or face and moves its body each time the slave unit speaker 20 that outputs the acoustic signal wM is switched. It is expected to show a reaction such as barking (squealing). This makes it possible to entertain the target animal 2 and contribute to solving the lack of exercise.

[Second Embodiment]
The second embodiment of the sound providing system according to the present invention will be described focusing on the parts different from the first embodiment. The elements common to the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. The same applies to the following embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the sound providing system of the present invention. In the sound providing system 1 of the present embodiment, as compared with the first embodiment, the master unit 10 additionally includes a switching influence information creating unit 15 and a speaker switching information creating unit 16. Further, the sound providing system 1 of the present embodiment further includes a state information acquisition unit 30.

The state information acquisition unit 30 has a function of acquiring information (referred to as “state information i30”) regarding the motor state of the target animal 2, and is composed of predetermined hardware. As a more detailed specific example, the state information acquisition unit 30 includes an acceleration sensor, an infrared sensor, or a camera capable of detecting the movement of the target animal 2, a microphone capable of detecting the direction and loudness of the bark of the target animal 2, and the like. It is composed of a pressure sensor, a vibration sensor, or the like that can detect contact with the body or tongue of the target animal 2. The state information acquisition unit 30 may be composed of a plurality of hardware included in the above-mentioned example.

The switching influence information creation unit 15 includes the state information i30 acquired by the state information acquisition unit 30 and the actual data of the past speaker switching information stored in the speaker switching information storage unit 13 (hereinafter referred to as “speaker switching information i13p”). The switching influence information i15 is created in association with (referred to as).

The switching influence information i15 is in a state in which the past speaker switching information i13p and the state information i30 regarding the motion state of the target animal 2 when the output destination speaker is switched based on the speaker switching information i13p at that time are associated with each other. This is the information provided. Specifically, based on the past results for the target animal 2, for example, what kind of reaction the target animal 2 showed when the slave unit speaker 20 as the output destination was switched at intervals of 10 seconds, the switching cycle was determined. What kind of reaction the target animal 2 showed when it was changed at random is described as numerical data.

As an example, the state information i30 can be a relative value obtained by evaluating the degree of activity of the movement of the target animal 2 on a scale of 1 to 10. Degree 1 corresponds to the case of not moving at all and showing no interest, and degree 10 corresponds to the case of moving around extremely violently and barking (squealing).

The speaker switching information creating unit 16 is for approaching the desired motion state of the target animal 2 (hereinafter, referred to as “target motion state”) based on the switching effect information i15 created by the switching effect information creating unit 15. The speaker switching information i13 is created and output to the speaker switching information storage unit 13. The speaker switching information creation unit 16 is an arithmetic processing unit, and is composed of dedicated software and / or hardware.

As described above, since the switching influence information creating unit 15 creates the switching influence information i15 corresponding to the past performance of the target animal 2, the switching influence information i15 shows a unique tendency according to the target animal 2. .. Therefore, the speaker switching information creation unit 16 is effective for the target animal 2 according to a desired exercise state, such as when the target animal 2 is to be calmed down or when the motility of the target animal 2 is to be improved. The speaker switching information i13 can be created. As a result, the speaker switching information storage unit 13 stores the speaker switching information i13 according to the target exercise state in a state in which the tendency of the target animal 2 is reflected.

Therefore, according to the sound providing system 1 of the present embodiment, the target animal 2 can be brought closer to the exercise state desired by the owner.

The exercise state (target exercise state) desired by the owner may be set in advance on the master unit 10 side, or multiple types (to calm down or to exercise violently) by operating the master unit 10 are desired. , Etc.) may be selectively set. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the information i40 regarding the target exercise state desired by the owner may be input from the external terminal 40. As the external terminal 40, a general-purpose communication device such as a smartphone or a tablet PC can be used. In this case, it may be configured so that information on the target exercise state can be input through a dedicated application installed in the general-purpose communication device.

As shown in FIG. 4, the state information acquisition unit 30 may be built in or attached to the slave unit speaker 20. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the state information acquisition unit 30 may be attached to the target animal 2.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, information regarding the switching timing of the slave unit speaker 20 which is the output destination desired by the owner (hereinafter referred to as “switching timing information i40a”) is input from the external terminal 40, and the speaker switching is performed. The information creation unit 16 may create the speaker switching information i13 based on the switching timing information i40a. For example, when the owner wants to switch the slave unit speaker 20 as the output destination every 10 seconds, the information is input to output the acoustic signal wM according to the switching mode desired by the owner. The destination speaker can be switched. As a result, it is possible to switch manually, and when it is necessary to grasp the tendency of the target animal 2 such as at the initial stage, it is possible to collect data for creating the switching influence information i15.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the case where the switching timing information i40a is input through the external terminal 40 has been described, but the switching timing information i40a may be input by operating the master unit 10. Switching timing information i40a may be input to the master unit 10 by operating any of the slave unit speakers 20.

[Third Embodiment]
The third embodiment of the sound providing system according to the present invention will be described focusing on the parts different from the first embodiment.

The sound providing system 1 of the present embodiment is different from each of the above-described embodiments in that the master unit 10 implements the speaker function, and is common to the others. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the master unit 10 includes a sound output unit 17. The sound output unit 17 is composed of the same members as the sound output unit 22 included in the slave unit speaker 20. In addition, in this embodiment, in order to show that the master unit 10 exhibits a speaker function, it is appropriately referred to as "master unit speaker 10".

In the sound providing system 1 of the present embodiment, the speaker switching information i13 stored in the speaker switching information storage unit 13 includes the slave unit speakers (20a, 20b, ...) And the master unit speaker which are output destinations of the acoustic signal wM. Information on the switching method of 10 is described. As an example, information such as the control of switching the output destination speaker in the order of the master unit speaker 10, the slave unit speaker 20a, the slave unit speaker 20b, and so on is repeated 10 times every 30 seconds of the switching cycle is described.

The output destination speaker determination unit 14 sets the current output destination speaker to the master unit speaker 10 and a plurality of slave unit speakers (20a, 20b, ...) Based on the speaker switching information i13 transmitted from the speaker switching information storage unit 13. ) To select and decide. The sound data transmission unit 12 outputs the output specified from the master unit speaker 10 and the plurality of slave unit speakers (20a, 20b, ...) Based on the speaker determination information i14 determined by the output destination speaker determination unit 14. Sound data iM is transmitted to the destination speaker. When the output destination speaker is the master unit speaker 10, the sound data transmission unit 12 outputs the sound data iM to the sound output unit 17 mounted on the master unit speaker 10. When the output destination speaker is the slave unit speaker 20, the sound data transmission unit 12 transmits the sound data iM to the specified slave unit speaker 20 via the communication N1 as in the above embodiment.

Since other contents are common to each of the above embodiments, the description thereof will be omitted. In the second embodiment, as described above with reference to FIG. 4, when the state information acquisition unit 30 is mounted on the slave unit speaker 20, the state information acquisition unit 30 is also mounted on the master unit speaker 10. It does not matter as a thing (see FIG. 8).

[Fourth Embodiment]
The fourth embodiment of the sound providing system according to the present invention will be described focusing on the parts different from the first embodiment.

The sound providing system 1 of the present embodiment is different from each of the above-described embodiments in that it further includes a cloud server 50 (see FIG. 9). The cloud server 50 is configured to be able to communicate with the master unit 10 via communication N2. The communication N2 corresponds to the "second communication method", and for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark), the Internet, and the like can be used.

The cloud server 50 includes a speaker information storage unit 51, a switching timing information storage unit 52, a speaker switching information creation unit 53, and a sound source storage unit 54. The speaker information storage unit 51, the switching timing information storage unit 52, and the sound source storage unit 54 are storage areas for storing information described later, and are composed of storage media such as a flash memory and a hard disk. Further, the speaker switching information creation unit 53 is an arithmetic processing unit that performs predetermined signal processing (calculation) based on the acquired information, and is composed of dedicated software and / or hardware.

Although not shown in FIG. 9, the cloud server 50 naturally includes a transmission / reception interface (not shown) for transmitting / receiving data to / from the master unit 10 via communication N2.

The speaker information storage unit 51 is a storage area in which information on speakers that are candidates for output destination speakers is registered. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the speaker information storage unit 51 refers to information for identifying a plurality of slave unit speakers 20 (20a, 20b, ...) Candidates for the output destination speaker (hereinafter, "identification information i51"). ) Is memorized.

The switching timing information storage unit 52 stores information regarding the timing of switching the output destination from among the plurality of slave unit speakers 20 (hereinafter, referred to as “switching timing information i52”). The switching timing information i52 contains information such as switching every 10 seconds or switching at random time intervals.

The sound source storage unit 54 stores a large number of sound data iMs. The sound data iM stored in the sound source storage unit 54 of the cloud server 50 is transmitted to the master unit 10 via the communication N2 and stored in the sound source storage unit 11 of the master unit 10. The sound source storage unit 11 of the master unit 10 may store the sound data iM in units of music, or may store the sound data iM as fragmentary partial data of the music.

The speaker switching information creation unit 53 creates speaker switching information i13 based on the identification information i51 stored in the speaker information storage unit 51 and the switching timing information i52 stored in the switching timing information storage unit 52. Since the speaker switching information i13 is the same as the above-described contents in the first embodiment and the like, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The master unit 10 stores the speaker switching information i13 transmitted from the cloud server 50 via the communication N2 in the speaker switching information storage unit 13. The output destination speaker determination unit 14 selects the current output destination speaker from a plurality of slave unit speakers (20a, 20b, ...) Based on the speaker switching information i13 stored in the speaker switching information storage unit 13. To decide. The sound data transmission unit 12 reads the sound data iM from the sound source storage unit 11 in which the sound data iM transmitted from the cloud server 50 via the communication N2 is stored, and is determined by the output destination speaker determination unit 14. Based on the speaker determination information i14, the sound data iM is transmitted via the communication N1 to the output destination speaker specified from the plurality of slave unit speakers (20a, 20b, ...).

According to this configuration, the general-purpose sound data iM and the switching timing information i52 stored in advance in the cloud server 50 can be used on the master unit 10 side according to the type of the target animal 2. Further, since various sound data iMs and switching timing information i52s stored in the cloud server 50 can be used, it is possible to learn the sound data iMs preferred by the target animal 2 and the switching method.

The above-described aspects of the second embodiment and the third embodiment can also be applied to the configuration of the present embodiment.

For example, as in the second embodiment, the sound providing system 1 may include the state information acquisition unit 30 (see FIG. 10). In the case of the present embodiment, the state information acquisition unit 30 transmits the acquired information (state information i30) regarding the motion state of the target animal 2 to the cloud server 50 via the communication N2. However, the state information acquisition unit 30 itself does not necessarily have to be able to connect to the communication N2, and the state information i30 is transmitted to the cloud server 50 via the communication N2 through another terminal (for example, a smartphone). You may.

The cloud server 50 includes a speaker switching information storage unit 55 and a switching influence information creation unit 15. The speaker switching information storage unit 55 is a storage area for storing the speaker switching information i13 created by the speaker switching information creation unit 53, and more specifically, the actual data of the past speaker switching information i13 (speaker switching information i13p). Is remembered. Similar to the second embodiment, the switching influence information creating unit 15 associates the state information i30 acquired by the state information acquiring unit 30 with the speaker switching information i13p stored in the speaker switching information storage unit 13. The switching influence information i15 is created. As a result, as in the second embodiment, the speaker switching information creation unit 53 is effective for the target animal 2 based on the switching influence information i15 created in response to the past achievements of the target animal 2. Speaker switching information i13 can be created. That is, the sound providing system 1 of the present embodiment can also bring the target animal 2 closer to the exercise state desired by the owner.

In particular, according to the sound providing system 1 of the present embodiment, since the switching influence information i15 is created on the cloud server 50 side, each of the plurality of target animals 2 raised by a large number of owners connected to the cloud server 50. It is possible to create a large number of switching influence information i15 in which the state information i30 and the speaker switching information i13p are associated with each of the status information i30. Thereby, more effective speaker switching information i13 can be created for each type of the target animal 2 based on the switching influence information i15 that reflects the past performance of the target animal 2. That is, the speaker switching information creation unit 53 can create the speaker switching information i13 while learning effective speaker switching information i13 for each target animal 2 based on the actual data of a large number of target animals 2 kept by each owner. It will be possible.

As shown in FIG. 11, information regarding the switching timing of the output destination speaker desired by the owner (switching timing information i40a) is input from the external terminal 40, and the switching timing information i40a is transmitted to the cloud server 50 via the communication N2. It may be sent to. Further, also in the present embodiment, the switching timing information i40a may be input from the master unit 10 by operating the master unit 10 and transmitted to the cloud server 50 via the communication N2. Further, when any of the slave unit speakers 20 is operated, the switching timing information i40a is input from the slave unit speaker 20, and the switching timing information i40a is transmitted via the master unit 10 or directly via the communication N2. It may be transmitted to the cloud server 50.

Further, also in the present embodiment, the state information acquisition unit 30 may be mounted on the slave unit speaker 20 (see FIG. 12). Further, it may be assumed that the master unit 10 is equipped with the speaker function (see FIG. 13). Detailed explanations are omitted from the viewpoint of avoiding duplicate explanations.

[Another Embodiment]
Hereinafter, another embodiment of the music providing system according to the present invention will be described.

<1> In the above embodiment, the case where the target animal 2 is a dog has been described, but the target animal 2 assumed by the sound providing system 1 is not limited to dogs, and pets other than dogs such as cats, rabbits, and birds. It may be a domestic animal such as a cow, a pig, a chicken, or a horse, or it may be an animal bred in a zoo or a protected animal.

<2> In the above embodiment, the case where the target animal 2 is one animal (one animal) has been taken as an example and described. However, when a plurality of target animals 2 are present in the area where the slave unit speaker 20 is installed, the plurality of target animals 2 are simultaneously affected by switching the output destination speaker of the acoustic signal wM. It doesn't matter.

<3> When the sound providing system 1 includes the state information acquisition unit 30, the speaker switching information creation unit (16, 43) responds to the information (state information) regarding the real-time motion state of the target animal 2. The speaker switching information i13 may be created. For example, when the speaker that is the output destination of the acoustic signal wM is switched under the set speaker switching information i13, the switching influence information creating unit 15 uses the state information i30 transmitted from the state information acquisition unit 30. As soon as it is detected that the target animal 2 does not show the expected reaction, the speaker switching information i13 and the state information i30 are associated with each other to create the switching influence information i15, and the speaker switching information creation unit (16, Output to 43). The speaker switching information creation unit (16, 43) recognizes that the speaker switching information i13 currently set has a small effect on the target animal 2 based on the switching influence information i15, and different speaker switching information i13. Is created and transmitted to the output destination speaker determination unit 14. Hereinafter, the same process is repeated.

As a result, effective speaker switching information i13, which has a high influence on the target animal 2, is searched and learned in real time.

<4> As described above with reference to FIG. 11, when the sound providing system 1 has an external terminal 40 that can be connected to the cloud server 50 via the communication N2, the owner causes the external terminal 40 to connect to the cloud server 50. , Information on attributes such as the type (dog breed, etc.) of the target animal 2 and the age of the moon may be input. It should be noted that the same information may be transmitted from the master unit 10 and the slave unit speaker 20 to the cloud server 50.

In this case, the switching timing information storage unit 52 may store the initial switching timing information i52 in advance for each attribute and target action of the target animal 2. According to this configuration, the switching timing information i52, which is considered to be effective for actively moving around, is stored in advance for each attribute of the target animal 2, so that the behavioral state (enjoyment) targeting the target animal 2 is stored. The time required to make the transition to (No, calm down) can be shortened.

<5> In each of the above embodiments, the frequency, volume, etc. of the acoustic signal wM are changed within the time during which the acoustic signal wM is output from the same slave unit speaker (20a, 20b, ...) Or the master unit speaker 10. Processing to be performed (hereinafter, collectively referred to as "effect processing") may be performed.

For example, in the sound providing system 1 of the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, the master unit 10 includes an effect processing unit 19, and the speaker switching information i13 stored in the speaker switching information storage unit 13. It may be assumed that the sound data iM is output to the sound data transmission unit 12 after the effect processing is performed on the sound data iM in the effect processing unit 19 within the switching cycle described in 1.

Further, for example, in the sound providing system 1 of the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, the cloud server 50 includes an effect processing unit 59, and the speaker switching information i13 created by the speaker switching information creating unit 53. After the effect processing is performed on the sound data iM stored in the sound source storage unit 54 in the effect processing unit 59 within the switching cycle described in the above, it is assumed that the sound data iM is transmitted to the master unit 10 via the communication N2. It doesn't matter.

The effect processing unit (19, 59) described above is a processing means implemented by hardware or software. For example, it is a processing unit that performs known effect processing such as a process of removing a specific frequency included in the sound data iM by a high-pass filter, a low-pass filter, or the like, and a process of increasing / reducing the amplitude of the sound data iM by an amplifier or the like.

<6> The sound providing system 1 may be realized by appropriately combining the configurations of the above-described embodiments.

1: Sound providing system 2: Target animal 10: Master unit, master unit speaker 11: Sound source storage unit 12: Sound data transmission unit 13: Speaker switching information storage unit 14: Output destination speaker determination unit 15: Switching influence information creation unit 16 : Speaker switching information creation unit 17: Sound output unit 19: Effect processing unit 20: Slave unit speaker 20a: Slave unit speaker 20b: Slave unit speaker 21: Sound data reception unit 22: Sound output unit 30: Status information acquisition unit 40: External terminal 50: Cloud server 51: Speaker information storage unit 52: Switching timing information storage unit 53: Speaker switching information creation unit 54: Sound source storage unit 55: Speaker switching information storage unit 59: Effect processing unit N1: Communication N2: Communication i13 : Speaker switching information i13p: Speaker switching information i14: Speaker determination information i15: Switching influence information i30: State information i40: Target movement state information i40a: Switching timing information i51: Identification information i52: Switching timing information iM: Sound data wM: Acoustic signal

Claims (13)

It has a sound data receiving unit that receives sound data that is a digital signal, and a sound output unit that converts the sound data received by the sound data receiving unit into a vibration signal and outputs it, and is configured to be portable. , Multiple slave unit speakers,
A master unit configured to be able to transmit the sound data to the plurality of slave unit speakers by the first communication method is provided.
The master unit is
The sound source storage unit in which the sound data is stored and
A sound data transmission unit configured to be able to transmit the sound data to the slave unit speaker by the first communication method.
Speaker switching information storage unit that stores speaker switching information, which is information on a switching method of the sound data output destination speaker, which is determined from among the sound data output destination candidates including the plurality of slave unit speakers. When,
It is provided with an output destination speaker determination unit that determines the output destination speaker at a switching timing based on the speaker switching information stored in the speaker switching information storage unit.
The sound data transmitting unit is a sound providing system, characterized in that the sound data is selectively output to the output destination speaker determined by the output destination speaker determining unit. It has a state information acquisition unit configured to acquire state information regarding the motor state of a target animal, which is a non-human animal, and to transmit the state information to the master unit.
The master unit is
A switching effect information creating unit that creates switching effect information in which the state information of the target animal transmitted from the state information acquisition unit and the speaker switching information are associated with each other.
It is provided with a speaker switching information creating unit that creates the speaker switching information for bringing the moving state of the target animal closer to the target moving state based on the switching influence information and stores it in the speaker switching information storage unit. The sound providing system according to claim 1, which is a feature. The sound according to claim 2, wherein the state information acquisition unit is built in the slave unit speaker, is provided along with the slave unit speaker, or is attached to the target animal. Offering system. The present invention is characterized in that the speaker switching information creating unit creates the speaker switching information based on the switching timing information which is information about the switching timing of the output destination speaker, and stores the speaker switching information storage unit in the speaker switching information storage unit. The sound providing system according to 2 or 3. The sound providing system according to claim 4, further comprising an external terminal that receives input of the switching timing information. The external terminal has a configuration that accepts input of information regarding the target exercise state.
The sound providing system according to claim 5, wherein the speaker switching information creating unit creates the speaker switching information based on the information regarding the target motion state input from the external terminal. The master unit is composed of a master unit speaker configured to be portable and having a sound output unit that converts the sound data received by the sound data receiving unit into a vibration signal and outputs the sound data.
The speaker switching information is information on a method of switching the output destination speaker, which is determined from among the output destination candidates of the sound data including the plurality of the slave unit speakers and the master unit speaker.
When the output destination speaker determined by the output destination speaker determination unit is the slave unit speaker, the sound data transmission unit selectively selects the slave unit speaker via the first communication method. When the sound data is output and the output destination speaker determined by the output destination speaker determination unit is the master unit speaker, the sound data is selectively output to the sound output unit of the master unit speaker. The sound providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the sound is output. It is equipped with a cloud server configured to be able to communicate with the master unit by the second communication method.
The cloud server
A speaker information storage unit in which identification information of a plurality of the slave unit speakers is stored, and
A switching timing information storage unit that stores switching timing information, which is information related to the switching timing of the output destination speaker, and
A speaker switching information creation unit that creates the speaker switching information based on the identification information of the plurality of slave unit speakers and the switching timing information is provided.
The master unit is
The speaker switching information transmitted from the cloud server by the second communication method is stored in the speaker switching information storage unit, and the speaker switching information is stored in the speaker switching information storage unit.
The sound providing system according to claim 1, wherein the sound data transmitted from the cloud server by the second communication method is stored in the sound source storage unit. It has a state information acquisition unit configured to acquire state information regarding the motor state of a target animal that is a non-human animal and to transmit the state information directly or via the master unit to the cloud server.
The cloud server has a switching influence information creating unit that creates switching influence information in which the state information of the target animal transmitted from the state information acquisition unit and the speaker switching information are associated with each other.
The speaker switching information creating unit is characterized in that, based on the switching influence information, the speaker switching information for bringing the motion state of the target animal closer to the target motion state is created and stored in the speaker switching information storage unit. The sound providing system according to claim 8. The state information acquisition unit is characterized by being built in the slave unit speaker, provided along with the slave unit speaker, or composed of a sensor attached to the target animal. The sound providing system according to claim 9. The present invention is characterized in that the speaker switching information creating unit creates the speaker switching information based on the switching timing information which is information about the switching timing of the output destination speaker, and stores the speaker switching information storage unit in the speaker switching information storage unit. The sound providing system according to 9 or 10. The sound providing system according to claim 11, further comprising an external terminal that receives input of the switching timing information. The master unit is composed of a master unit speaker configured to be portable and having a sound output unit that converts the sound data received by the sound data receiving unit into a vibration signal and outputs the sound data.
The speaker information storage unit stores identification information of a plurality of the slave unit speakers and the master unit speaker.
The speaker switching information is information on a method of switching the output destination speaker, which is determined from among the output destination candidates of the sound data including the plurality of the slave unit speakers and the master unit speaker.
When the output destination speaker determined by the output destination speaker determination unit is the slave unit speaker, the sound data transmission unit of the master unit transmits the slave unit speaker via the first communication method. Selectively output the sound data, and when the output destination speaker determined by the output destination speaker determination unit is the master unit speaker, the sound output unit of the master unit speaker is selectively output. The sound providing system according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the sound data is output.

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