JP4525145B2 - Acoustic device and method for controlling acoustic device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an audio device and a method for controlling the audio device, and can be applied to, for example, a television receiver and various audio devices. The present invention detects the direction of the remote commander by a remote control signal from the remote commander and changes the directivity of the speaker by the ultrasonic wave to the direction of the remote commander, thereby reducing sound leakage to the surroundings and using the speaker. To be able to provide an appropriate sound field.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, television receivers, audio devices, and the like that are acoustic devices can create a high sense of presence with a large volume.

  With regard to such an acoustic device, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-93690 proposes a method of providing an appropriate sound field to the user by moving the direction of the speaker in the direction of the remote commander. Yes.

  However, in the trial listening of music or the like using such a speaker, there is a problem that sound leaks around the adjacent room or the like. Especially in the case of mid-high sounds, it can be relatively well sound-insulated due to the structure of the house, etc., but in the case of low-pitched sounds, it is difficult to sufficiently insulate the sound. Bass sound leakage becomes significant.

  One way to solve this problem is to enjoy music or the like with headphones or earphones. However, when headphones and earphones are used, it is troublesome to put on the headphones and earphones, and the cables are in the way, which causes problems that are still insufficient in practice compared to the case where music is enjoyed through speakers. is there.

On the other hand, a method of reducing sound leakage to the surroundings using a speaker with a sharp directivity is also conceivable. However, in this method, a sound field can be appropriately obtained only at a specific place related to the sharp directivity of the speaker. By being formed, it is difficult to enjoy music or the like in an appropriate sound field unless the music or the like is auditioned at this specific place.
JP-A-9-93690

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and intends to propose an acoustic device and a control method for the acoustic device that can reduce sound leakage to the surroundings and provide an appropriate sound field by a speaker. It is.

  In order to solve such a problem, in the first aspect of the present invention, the direction detecting means is applied to an acoustic device whose operation is switched by a remote control signal from the remote commander, and detects the direction of the remote commander by the remote control signal from the remote commander. And an ultrasonic speaker for a reference signal for generating an ultrasonic wave based on the reference signal, and an ultrasonic generator for a modulation signal for generating an ultrasonic wave based on a modulation signal obtained by modulating the reference signal with an audio signal And directivity correcting means for changing the directivity of the ultrasonic speaker according to the detection result of the direction detecting means.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a direction detecting step for detecting a direction of a remote commander by a remote control signal from a remote commander, applied to a method for controlling an acoustic device that switches operation by a remote control signal from a remote commander. An ultrasonic speaker for a reference signal that generates an ultrasonic wave by a reference signal, and an ultrasonic speaker by an ultrasonic generator for a modulation signal that generates an ultrasonic wave by a modulation signal obtained by modulating the reference signal by an audio signal; The directivity correction step of changing the directivity of the ultrasonic speaker according to the detection result of the direction detection step is provided.

  An ultrasonic generator for a reference signal that generates an ultrasonic wave by a reference signal according to the configuration of claim 1, and an ultrasonic generator for a modulated signal that generates an ultrasonic wave by a modulation signal obtained by modulating the reference signal by an audio signal; In the case where the ultrasonic speaker is provided, a sound field can be formed with a sharp directivity. Thus, according to the configuration of the first aspect, the present invention is applied to an acoustic device whose operation is switched by a remote control signal from a remote commander, and direction detecting means for detecting the direction of the remote commander by a remote control signal from the remote commander, By providing directivity correction means that varies the directivity of the speaker according to the detection result by the direction detection means, the sharp directivity by the ultrasonic speaker is set in the direction of the remote commander to provide an audio signal Thus, sound leakage to the surroundings can be reduced, and an appropriate sound field can be provided by the speaker.

  Thereby, according to the structure of Claim 5, the control method of the audio equipment which can reduce the sound leakage to circumference | surroundings and can provide an appropriate sound field with a speaker can be provided.

  According to the present invention, sound leakage to the surroundings can be reduced and an appropriate sound field can be provided by a speaker.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

(1) Configuration of Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an audio device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The acoustic apparatus 1 controls the audio signal SA output from the audio signal source S by the operation of the remote commander 2 and provides it to the user. Here, in this audio signal source S, various signal sources such as an audio signal source based on various video sources and an audio signal source based on a music source can be widely applied. In the following example, the audio signal processing system is described as one system for the sake of simplification. However, in the audio signal processing system, two systems using the stereo system and 5.1 channel are used. The present invention can be widely applied to multi-channel processing using multiple channels.

  For this reason, the remote commander 2 is provided with various operators for controlling the audio signal source S, and in this embodiment, a directivity switching operator 3 for switching the directivity of the audio signal SA provided to the user. Are provided, and the operation of these operators is transmitted by a remote control signal L1 using infrared rays.

  In the audio device 1, the receiving unit 4 receives this remote control signal L 1 and notifies the controller 5. Here, the receiving unit 4 has a plurality of infrared light receiving units 6A to 6E having sharp directivities for each region obtained by dividing a trial listening area of the acoustic device 1 radially with the acoustic device 1 as a center. For example, they are arranged on a member 7 that protrudes in a circular arc shape toward the front side of the acoustic device 1 so as to cover each. Here, the trial-listenable area is an area in which the user can audition the audio signal SA using the acoustic device 1. Thereby, in this acoustic apparatus 1, the direction of the user who operates the remote commander 2 can be detected by comparing the light reception results by the infrared light receiving units 6A to 6E.

  More specifically, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the central infrared light receiving unit 6 </ b> C is arranged so that the front direction of the acoustic device 1 is substantially a directional peak direction, The left and right infrared light receiving portions 6B and 6D of the central infrared light receiving portion 6C are arranged so that directions inclined by 30 degrees to the left and right from the front direction are substantially directional peak directions. Further, the outermost infrared light receivers 6A and 6E are arranged so that directions inclined by 60 degrees to the left and right from the front direction are almost directivity peak directions.

  In the receiving unit 4, the intensity detectors 8A to 8D detect and output the signal levels of the light reception results, for example, by detecting the light reception results of the infrared light receiving units 6A to 6E, respectively. A / D) 9 performs analog-digital conversion processing on these signal level detection results and outputs them to the controller 5.

  The controller 5 is formed by arithmetic processing means, and by receiving and processing the light reception results of the infrared light receiving units 6A to 6E by a system different from the system by the intensity detectors 8A to 8D by executing a predetermined processing program. The operation of the remote commander 2 is detected, and the operation of the audio signal source S is controlled based on the detection result. As a result, in this acoustic apparatus 1, the source related to the audio signal source S can be switched by the operation of the remote commander 2, and further the volume, frequency characteristics, etc. of the audio signal SA can be switched.

  The controller 5 detects the operation of the remote commander 2 and when the directivity switching operator 3 is operated by the remote commander 2, the remote commander 2 detects the signal level detection result input from the analog-digital conversion circuit 9. 2 direction is detected. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the controller 5 approximates the intensity detection results LA to LE of the remote control signal L1 detected by the infrared light receivers 6A to 6E by a quadratic curve, and the intensity of the remote control signal L1 is increased. A direction θ that becomes a peak is detected. The controller 5 controls the speaker driving circuit 10 based on the detection result of the direction θ, thereby changing the directivity of the audio signal SA output from the speaker 11 in the direction in which the user is positioned.

  In this embodiment, the speaker 11 is an ultrasonic speaker with extremely sharp directivity. That is, FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining the operating principle of the speaker 11. In this type of speaker, ultrasonic generators 13A and 13B are arranged side by side, and one ultrasonic generator 13A is driven by a reference signal S1 based on a sine wave signal to generate an ultrasonic wave. Further, the reference signal S1 is amplitude-modulated or frequency-modulated by the audio signal SA by the modulation circuit 19, and the ultrasonic generator 13B is driven by the modulation signal S2 which is the modulation result to generate an ultrasonic wave. When the ultrasonic generators 13A and 13B arranged side by side with the reference signal S1 and the modulation signal S2 are driven in this way, the reference signal S1 and the modulation signal S2 are caused by the interference of the ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic generators 13A and 13B. The audio signal SA, which is a beat component, can be heard. However, in the formation of such a sound field by ultrasonic waves, since the ultrasonic waves can ensure a very sharp directivity, even in the sound field, it can be formed in a very limited region, and thereby sharp. Directivity can be secured.

  The speaker 11 ensures such a sharp directivity by a so-called phased array method. That is, in the speaker 11, the reference signal ultrasonic generators 14A to 14E having low directivity are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction corresponding to the arrangement direction of the infrared light receiving units 6A to 6E. Further, a reference signal S1 having a phase corresponding to the direction of the remote commander 2 is supplied from the speaker driving circuit 10 to the ultrasonic generators 14A to 14E, whereby the ultrasonic wave by the reference signal S1 is sharply directed in the direction of the remote commander 2. Radiates by sex.

  Correspondingly, in the speaker 11, the ultrasonic generators 15A to 15E for modulation signals with low directivity are arranged in a horizontal direction corresponding to the arrangement direction of the ultrasonic generators 14A to 14E at a predetermined interval. The Also, a modulation signal S2 having a phase corresponding to the direction of the remote commander 2 is supplied from the speaker drive circuit 10 to the ultrasonic generators 15A to 15E, whereby the ultrasonic wave by the modulation signal S2 is sharply directed in the direction of the remote commander 2. Radiates by sex.

  For this reason, the speaker drive circuit 10 generates the reference signal S1 by the reference signal source 16 which is an oscillation circuit of a predetermined frequency, and drives the ultrasonic generators 14A to 14E by this reference signal S1. In driving the ultrasonic generators 14A to 14E, the speaker drive circuit 10 generates ultrasonic waves on both sides of the ultrasonic generator 14C arranged in the center by the phase shift circuits 17A, 17B, 17D, and 17E. The phase of the reference signal S1 supplied to the devices 14A, 14B, 14D, and 14E is varied according to an instruction from the controller 5, and thereby the direction of the remote commander 2 due to the interference of the ultrasonic waves radiated from the ultrasonic generators 14A to 14E. The reference signal S1 is emitted with a sharp directivity. In this embodiment, a sine wave signal having a frequency of about 100 [kHz] is applied as the reference signal S1.

  Further, the speaker drive circuit 10 performs amplitude modulation or frequency modulation of the reference signal S1 with the audio signal SA by the modulation circuit 19, and drives the ultrasonic generators 15A to 15E with the modulation signal S2 as a result of the modulation. Also in driving the ultrasonic generators 15A to 15E, the speaker drive circuit 10 uses ultrasonic waves on both sides of the ultrasonic generator 15C arranged in the center by the phase shift circuits 18A, 18B, 18D, and 18E. The phase of the modulation signal S2 to be supplied to the generators 15A, 15B, 15D, and 15E is varied according to an instruction from the controller 5, and thereby the interference of the ultrasonic waves emitted from the ultrasonic generators 15A to 15E causes the remote commander 2 to The modulation signal S2 is radiated with a directivity sharp in the direction.

  Accordingly, in this embodiment, the infrared light receiving units 6A to 6E, the intensity detectors 8A to 8D, and the controller 5 constitute a direction detecting unit that detects the direction in which the user is positioned with respect to the remote commander 2, whereas The phase shift circuits 17A to 17E, 18A to 18E, and the controller 5 constitute a directivity correction circuit that corrects the directivity of the speaker 11 in the direction in which the user is positioned.

(2) Operation of Example In the above-described configuration, in this acoustic apparatus 1, the operation of the remote commander 2 by the user is detected by the controller 5 by a remote control signal using infrared rays, and the control of the audio signal source S by the controller 5 allows The audio signal SA output from the audio signal source S is switched, the volume, frequency, etc. of the audio signal SA are adjusted, and the audio signal SA is provided from the speaker 11. As a result, the sound apparatus 1 can enjoy, for example, desired music or the like with a desired volume by operating the remote commander 2.

  Regarding the provision of the audio signal SA to the user, the acoustic device 1 drives the ultrasonic generators 14A to 14E by the reference signal S1 to radiate ultrasonic waves from the reference signal S1, and further uses the reference signal S1 as an audio signal. The ultrasonic generators 15A to 15E are driven by the modulation signal S2 amplitude-modulated or frequency-modulated by the SA, and ultrasonic waves by the modulation signal S2 are radiated, whereby the ultrasonic waves by the reference signal S1 and the ultrasonic waves by the modulation signal S2 are emitted. Due to the interference, a sound field is formed by the audio signal SA, and the audio signal SA is provided.

  Further, the ultrasonic radiation by the reference signal S1 and the ultrasonic radiation by the modulation signal S2 are respectively executed by the plurality of ultrasonic generators 14A to 14E and 15A to 15E. The audio signal SA is provided by a sharp directivity in a specific direction corresponding to the phase of the ultrasonic waves radiated from ˜14E and 15A to 15E. It is designed to prevent sound leakage depending on the nature.

  In the sound device 1, when the remote commander 2 operates the directivity switching operator 3 in the state of enjoying the audio signal SA in this manner, the remote commander 2 detected by the infrared receivers 6 </ b> A to 6 </ b> E. The direction of the remote commander 2 is detected based on the intensity of the remote control signal from the remote control signal. Further, the phase shift circuits 17A to 17E and 18A to 18E are controlled by the controller 5 according to the direction detection result, and the phases of the reference signal S1 and the modulation signal S2 supplied to the ultrasonic generators 14A to 14E and 15A to 15E. Is adjusted according to the direction of the remote commander 2. Thereby, in the acoustic device 1, the direction in which the ultrasonic wave by the reference signal S1 and the modulation signal S2 is radiated is controlled by the phased array method to the direction in which the user is positioned, and an appropriate sound field can be provided to the user. . Thereby, in this acoustic apparatus 1, it becomes possible to reduce sound leakage to the surroundings and provide an appropriate sound field by the speaker.

(3) Effects of the embodiment According to the above configuration, the direction in which the user is positioned is detected by operating the remote commander, and the sharp directivity of the speaker by ultrasonic waves is changed to the direction in which the user is positioned. The sound leakage can be reduced and an appropriate sound field can be provided by the speaker. As a result, the user can view television, radio, etc. without worrying about sound leakage to the adjacent room even at dawn at quiet night.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an audio device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In this acoustic device 20, the same configuration as that of the acoustic device 1 described above with reference to FIG. As a result, also in this sound device 20, the operation of the remote commander 2 (not shown) is detected by the controller 5 by a remote control signal using infrared rays, and the audio output from the audio signal source S is controlled by the control of the audio signal source S by the controller 5. The signal SA is switched, and the volume, frequency, etc. of the audio signal SA are adjusted. Further, the direction of the remote commander 2 is detected by the controller 5 by the operation of the remote commander 2, and the sharp directivity of the speaker 22 is set to the direction of the remote commander 2 by the controller 5 based on the detection result.

  In the acoustic device 20, the speaker 22 having a sharp directivity is formed by an ultrasonic speaker, and the speaker 22 provides a bass that is difficult to be sound-insulated. Is provided by a normal speaker 23 that is directly driven by the.

  That is, in this embodiment, the speaker drive circuit 24 inputs the audio signal output from the audio signal source S to the low-pass filter (LPF) 25 and the high-pass filter (HPF) 26, where the audio signal SA is an audio component of low-frequency components. The signal SAL and the audio signal SAH having middle and high tone components are separated. The speaker drive circuit 24 inputs the audio signal SAH of the middle and high tone components to an amplifier circuit (not shown), and drives the normal speaker 23 by this amplifier circuit.

  On the other hand, the speaker drive circuit 24 inputs the audio signal SAL of the low sound component to the modulation circuit 19, and modulates the reference signal S1 with the audio signal SAL to generate the modulation signal S2L. The modulation signal S2L and the reference signal The speaker 22 is driven by S1.

  Here, the speaker 22 is provided with ultrasonic generators 22A and 22B having sharp directivities driven by the modulation signal S2L and the reference signal S1, respectively, and the directions of the ultrasonic generators 22A and 22B are the same as those of the motor 26. The direction of the ultrasonic waves radiated from the ultrasonic generators 22A and 22B can be changed by driving the motor 26.

  The speaker drive circuit 24 drives the motor 26 by the motor drive circuit 28 in accordance with an instruction from the controller 5, thereby causing the ultrasonic generators 22 </ b> A and 22 </ b> B to transmit the reference signal S <b> 1 and the modulation signal S <b> 2 </ b> L in the direction of the remote commander 2. It emits sound waves.

  In the second embodiment, a low sound, which is difficult to be sound-insulated, is provided by an ultrasonic speaker with low directivity, and the direction in which the user is positioned is detected by operating the remote commander. By changing the property in the direction in which the user is positioned, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. In addition, by providing low-frequency sound that is difficult to insulate with an ultrasonic speaker, it is possible to sufficiently prevent sound leakage even if the low-frequency sound is set to a large volume, thereby enjoying music with a high level of realism. Can do.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an acoustic apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. In this acoustic device 30, the ultrasonic generators 22A and 22B in the acoustic device 20 according to the second embodiment of FIG. 4 are installed in separate movable mechanisms, and the directions of the ultrasonic generators 22A and 22B are individually variable. Except for this point, the configuration is the same as the acoustic device 20 described above with reference to FIG.

  That is, in this acoustic apparatus 30, the ultrasonic generator 22A is moved in the direction in which the motor 26A is moved by the motor drive circuit 28A provided in the speaker drive circuit 34, and the remote commander 2 is provided by the moving mechanism by the motor 26A. Ultrasound is emitted by the reference signal S1. On the other hand, in the ultrasonic generator 22B, the motor 26B is moved by a motor drive circuit 28B provided in the speaker drive circuit 34, and the modulation signal S2L is moved in the direction in which the remote commander 2 is provided by a movable mechanism by the motor 26B. Ultrasound is emitted.

  Thus, in this embodiment, the bass audio signal SAL is assigned to the ultrasonic speaker with low directivity and provided to the user, and the reference signal S1 and the modulation signal S2L constituting the ultrasonic speaker are related. The ultrasonic generators 22A and 22B are individually changed to provide a low-frequency audio signal SAL with a sharp directivity only in the direction in which the remote commander 2 is arranged as in the second embodiment.

  As in this embodiment, the directivity of this speaker may be controlled by individually controlling the configuration on the reference signal side and the configuration on the modulation signal side that constitute the ultrasonic speaker. The effect of can be obtained.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an acoustic apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. In the acoustic device 40, the speaker related to the ultrasonic wave on the low sound side is formed by the speaker 11 of the phased array system described above with reference to the first embodiment, and the reference signal S1 supplied to the speaker 11 in the speaker drive circuit 44. The directivity is switched by setting the phase of the modulation signal S2L.

  Even if an ultrasonic speaker is applied to low-frequency reproduction as in this embodiment and the directivity is switched by applying a phased array method to this ultrasonic speaker, the same effect as in the second embodiment can be obtained. Obtainable.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the direction of the remote commander is detected by the remote control signal by the directivity switching operation element provided in the remote commander has been described. The direction may be detected by operating the operator, or the direction may be detected by sending a remote control signal dedicated to direction detection at a certain time interval.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the infrared rays related to the remote control signal are received by the plurality of infrared light receiving units and the direction of the remote commander is detected has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be received to detect the direction of the remote commander.

  In the above-described embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to an acoustic device using an infrared remote commander has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be widely applied to an acoustic device using a wireless communication wave. Can do.

  The present invention relates to an audio device and a method for controlling the audio device, and can be applied to, for example, a television receiver and various audio devices.

It is a block diagram which shows the audio equipment which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a characteristic curve figure with which it uses for description of the direction detection of the remote commander in the audio equipment of FIG. It is a block diagram with which it uses for description of the speaker in the audio equipment of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the audio equipment which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the audio equipment which concerns on Example 3 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the audio equipment which concerns on Example 4 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 20, 30, 40 ... Acoustic apparatus, 2 ... Remote commander, 5 ... Controller, 6A-6E ... Infrared light-receiving part, 8A-8E ... Intensity detector, 9 ... Analog-digital conversion circuit, 10 , 24, 34, 44... Speaker driving circuit, 11, 22, 23... Speaker, 13A, 13B, 14A-14E, 15A-15E, 22A, 22B... Ultrasonic generator, 16. 17A to 17E, 18A to 18E: Phase shift circuit, 19: Modulation circuit, 25: Low pass filter, 26: High pass filter, 26, 26A, 26B ... Motor, 28, 28A, 28B ... Motor drive circuit

Claims (4)

In an audio device that switches operation by a remote control signal from a remote commander,
Direction detecting means for detecting the direction of the remote commander by a remote control signal from the remote commander;
A low-pass filter that extracts bass components from the audio signal;
A high-pass filter for extracting middle and high pitch components from the audio signal;
An ultrasonic generator for reference signals that generates ultrasonic waves by reference signals, and an ultrasonic generator for modulation signals that generates ultrasonic waves by modulation signals obtained by modulating the reference signals with audio signals extracted by the low-pass filter And an ultrasonic speaker with
Directivity correcting means for changing the directivity of the ultrasonic speaker according to the detection result of the direction detecting means;
A normal speaker directly driven by the audio signal extracted by the high-pass filter;
An acoustic device comprising: The ultrasonic speaker is
The reference signal ultrasonic generator and the modulation signal ultrasonic generator are each formed by a plurality of ultrasonic generators,
The directivity correcting means includes
The acoustic device according to claim 1, wherein the directivity of the ultrasonic speaker is varied by varying the phase of the reference signal and the modulation signal supplied to the plurality of ultrasonic generators. The directivity correcting means includes
The acoustic device according to claim 1, wherein the directivity of the ultrasonic speaker is changed by changing a direction of the ultrasonic speaker. In a control method of an audio device that switches operation by a remote control signal from a remote commander,
A direction detecting step of detecting a direction of the remote commander by a remote control signal from the remote commander;
Extracting a bass component from the audio signal by a low-pass filter;
Extracting a mid-high sound component from the audio signal by a high-pass filter;
An ultrasonic generator for a reference signal for generating an ultrasonic wave by a reference signal, and an ultrasonic generator for a modulation signal for generating an ultrasonic wave by a modulation signal obtained by modulating the reference signal with an audio signal extracted by the low-pass filter A directivity correction step for varying the directivity of the ultrasonic speaker according to the detection result of the direction detection step;
Directly driving a normal speaker with the audio signal extracted by the high-pass filter;
A method for controlling an audio device, comprising:

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