JP4951232B2 - Audio signal transmitter / receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an audio signal transmitter-receiver that provides improved user's operability and also lets a user relatively easily notice an error of a setting position, and can be made compact. <P>SOLUTION: The audio transmitter-receiver 1 is equipped with: a device body; a loudspeaker array 231 which is arranged in the device body and comprises a plurality of arrayed loudspeaker units SP; and a microphone array 24 which is arranged in the device body and comprises a plurality of arrayed microphones 241. The loudspeaker array 231 and microphone array 24 are thus unified, so that the user's operability is improved, the user notices the error of the setting position relatively easily, and the transmitter-receiver is made compact. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an audio signal transmission / reception device that transmits and receives audio signals to and from an audio signal transmission / reception device of the other party, and particularly relates to an improvement in arrangement of a speaker array and a microphone array.

  Conventionally, an audio apparatus including a speaker array in which a plurality of speaker units are arranged has been known (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). In this audio apparatus, by giving a delay time to the audio signal input to each speaker unit, the directivity direction and directivity range of the sound beam output from the speaker array can be controlled. As a result, since the sound beam can be output in a narrow directivity range that covers only the user's position, only the user can listen to the sound even when there are people other than the user in the sound field.

  An audio device having a microphone array in which a plurality of microphones are arranged has been known. This audio apparatus controls the delay time of the signal collected by each microphone. Specifically, the audio device performs delay control of the audio signal input to each microphone so as to compensate for the arrival time difference until the audio reaches each microphone from a specific directivity region.

The audio apparatus adds and synthesizes each signal after delay control. By this addition and synthesis, the sound from the specific directional area is amplified in phase, and the sound from other areas of the specific directional area cancels out of phase. As a result, the audio apparatus can collect sound specialized for sound from a specific directional area. By setting this specific area as the user's position, it is possible to collect sound only for the user's voice and not collect noise from other areas.
“Digital Sound Projector YSP-1 Catalog”, published by Yamaha Corporation, December 2004, page 4

  An audio signal transmission / reception system is composed of the above-described audio apparatus having the conventional speaker array (hereinafter referred to as a first audio apparatus) and an audio apparatus having a microphone array (hereinafter referred to as a second audio apparatus). If configured, a voice call can be performed hands-free. That is, by directing the sound beam to the user's position and directing the sound collecting beam, only the user can listen to the sound from the other party, and transmits the sound specialized to the user's voice to the other party. be able to. However, this audio signal transmission / reception system has the following disadvantages.

  That is, in order to direct the sound beam and the sound collection beam to the user's position, it is necessary to input the user's position to the first audio device and the second audio device. In the configuration in which the user manually inputs the position using the operation unit, the first and second audio devices must be individually set, and the operability is poor.

  In addition, when the first and second audio devices have a function of automatically detecting the user position, this processing is individually performed by the first and second audio devices. For this reason, the detection positions of the first and second audio devices may be different.

  Here, when there is a false detection at the detection position in the first audio device, the user easily notices the false detection because the user cannot hear the sound. However, even if the detection position of the second audio device is erroneously detected, the collected sound is transmitted to the other party's voice transmitting / receiving apparatus and emitted from the other party's voice transmitting / receiving apparatus. Hard to notice.

  In addition, since the first and second audio devices are separately provided with a configuration that can be shared, it is difficult to make the audio transmission / reception system compact.

  Also, if the speaker and the microphone are arranged in separate devices, depending on the installation state, the sound wrap-around state from the speaker to the microphone differs, so the echo cancellation processing of the sound circulated from the speaker to the microphone can be performed uniformly. It was difficult.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the user's operability is good, the error of the setting position can be noticed relatively easily by the user, and the echo can be effectively canceled while achieving compactness. An object of the present invention is to provide an audio transmission / reception device that can perform communication.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following means.

  (1) The present invention provides a device main body, a speaker array including a plurality of speaker units disposed in the device main body, a microphone array including a plurality of microphones disposed in the device main body, Is an audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus.

  According to the above configuration, since the speaker array and the microphone array are provided in the same apparatus main body, when the user performs an input operation on the directivity position, the directivity position of the sound beam and the directivity position of the sound collection beam are determined. If they are the same, only one operation is required. When the user's position is automatically detected and the sound beam and the sound collection beam are directed to the detection position, the sound collection beam has the same directivity position as the sound beam.

  For this reason, the audio device with the microphone array and the audio device with the speaker array are separate, and compared with the conventional technique in which the user position is individually detected, there is a false detection in the position of the user who directs the collected sound beam. When this occurs, it is possible to make the user recognize this erroneous detection relatively easily. That is, since there is no possibility that the user position for directing the sound beam and the user position for directing the sound collection beam are different from those of the prior art, the sound beam from the speaker array cannot be heard, so that the user position is erroneously detected. It is possible to make the user recognize that there was.

  In addition, since the speaker array and the microphone array are provided in the same apparatus main body, a sharable configuration can be shared, so that a reduction in size can be achieved.

  In addition, since the speaker and the microphone are arranged in the same device main body, regardless of how the user installs the device main body, the sound wrap-around state from the speaker to the microphone does not change significantly. It is possible to perform the echo cancellation process uniformly. This makes it possible to effectively perform echo cancellation.

  (2) The present invention is the above audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus, wherein the microphone unit array direction is such that the arrangement direction of the speaker units and the arrangement direction of the microphones are parallel, and the sound collection surface and the sound emission surface are at right angles. And an audio signal transmitting / receiving device, wherein the speaker array is disposed.

  According to the above configuration, the sound collection surface and the sound emission surface are disposed at right angles, and the microphone array can be disposed in a direction in which the sound pressure of the sound from the speaker array is low. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent acoustic coupling in which sound from the speaker array is input to the microphone array.

  In addition, when a unidirectional microphone in which sound collection from the rear is prevented is used for the microphone array, the sound from the speaker array is prevented from being collected by the microphone array, and acoustic coupling is further performed. It can be effectively prevented.

  (3) In the present invention, in the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus, the apparatus main body has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the speaker array is arranged on a lower surface of the apparatus main body or on an upper surface of the apparatus main body. A plurality of the microphone arrays are arranged, one part of the plurality of microphone arrays being arranged toward one side surface of the side surface of the apparatus body which is perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the speaker units, and the remaining part is the other one An audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus, which is arranged toward a side surface.

  According to the above configuration, the sound emission direction of the speaker array and the sound collection direction of the microphone array can be arranged to be orthogonal to each other, and the above-described acoustic coupling can be effectively prevented.

  In addition, one part of the microphone array is disposed toward one side surface of the apparatus main body side surface that is perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the speaker units, and the remaining portion is disposed toward the other one side surface. It is possible to effectively cancel the sound that has entered the array by signal processing. That is, by arranging the plurality of microphone arrays and the speaker array as described above, the distance between the speaker array and the microphone arrays arranged on both sides can be made substantially the same.

  For this reason, the sound that wraps around the microphone arrays on both sides is almost the same. As a result, when there is a user only on one of the microphone arrays, the audio signal picked up by the microphone array on the other side is excluded from the sound signals picked up by the microphone array so that the sound goes around from the speaker array. It is possible to effectively cancel the audio signal.

  (4) In the present invention, the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus, wherein the speaker unit arrangement direction and the microphone arrangement direction are parallel, and the sound collection direction and sound emission direction are parallel. The microphone array and the speaker array are arranged toward the same plane side.

  According to the above configuration, since the sound collection direction of the microphone array and the sound emission direction of the speaker array are parallel, when the directivity areas of the sound collection beam and the sound beam are matched, both the sound collection beam and the sound beam are directed. It is possible to easily adjust the installation direction of the apparatus main body so that it can be effectively directed to the area.

  (5) The present invention is characterized in that, in the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus, at least two microphone arrays are provided, and each microphone array is disposed at substantially the same distance on both sides of the speaker unit. And According to this configuration, since the distance between the speaker array and the microphone arrays arranged on both sides is substantially the same, the sound that wraps around the microphone arrays on both sides is substantially the same. As a result, when there is a user only on one of the microphone arrays, the audio signal picked up by the microphone array on the other side is excluded from the sound signals picked up by the microphone array so that the sound goes around from the speaker array. It is possible to effectively cancel the audio signal.

  According to the present invention, since the speaker array and the microphone array are provided in the same apparatus main body, when the user performs an input operation on the directivity position, the directivity position of the sound beam and the directivity position of the sound collection beam are determined. If they are the same, only one operation is required.

  In addition, since there is no possibility that the user position for directing the sound beam and the user position for directing the sound collection beam are different from the prior art, the sound beam from the speaker array cannot be heard, so that it is erroneously detected at both user positions. It is possible to make the user recognize that there is. Furthermore, since a configuration that can be shared by the speaker array and the microphone array can be shared, a reduction in size can be achieved.

  According to the above, it is possible to provide a voice transmission / reception apparatus that has good user operability, can make a user aware of a setting position error relatively easily, and can be made compact.

  In addition, since the speaker and the microphone are arranged in the same apparatus main body, regardless of how the user installs the apparatus main body, it is arranged in a positional relationship in which the sound wraparound state from the speaker to the microphone is the same. It is possible to uniformly perform echo cancellation processing of sound that circulates from the speaker to the microphone. Thereby, echo cancellation can be performed effectively.

(First embodiment)
The audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. The audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 is connected to a network such as the Internet or a LAN. The audio signal transmission / reception device 1 transmits / receives an audio signal to / from the other party's audio signal transmission / reception device 1 via the network. Have a meeting.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1. In the following description, the front side of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 is described as Y, the rear side as -Y, the right side as X, and the left side as -X. 2A is a plan view of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2B is a rear view of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 viewed from the −Y side, and FIG. It is the front view which looked at the audio | voice signal transmission / reception apparatus 1 from the Y side. 3A is a right side view of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 as viewed from the X side, and FIG. 3B is a left side view of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 as viewed from the −X side.

  The audio signal transmission / reception device 1 includes a long, substantially rectangular parallelepiped-shaped device body 2 supported at a predetermined height from an installation surface by substantially rectangular legs 3 that are externally fitted on both sides thereof. The apparatus main body 2 has a top panel 20, a bottom grill 21, and side panels 22 (22A, 22B) as a casing, and is a long-sized instrument having a speaker array 231 (described later with reference to FIG. 4) inside the casing. A speaker device 23 (described later with reference to FIG. 5) and two rows of microphone arrays 24 (24A and 24B, which will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5) are provided.

  The speaker array 231 is provided in a row in the longitudinal direction on the lower surface of the speaker device 23, and the microphone array 24 is provided in a row on both side surfaces in the longitudinal direction of the speaker device 23. The configurations of the speaker device 23, the speaker array 231, and the microphone array 24 will be described later in detail.

  The top panel 20 and the side panel 22 are resin panels as covers for the internal structure including the speaker array 231 and the microphone array 24. The top panel 20 is a long member having a U-shaped cross section, and the side panel 22 is a flat plate. Shaped member. The lower surface grill 21 is a punch mesh steel plate having a substantially U-shaped cross section so as not to disturb sound emission and sound collection of the speaker array 231 and the microphone array 24.

  The operation unit 4 is embedded at the X-side end portion of the upper surface of the upper panel 20, and the LED lighting unit 5 is embedded at substantially the center. As shown in FIG. 2A, the operation unit 4 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 41 for displaying a setting state or the like on the −X side, and an operation button group 42 for communication such as a numeric keypad on the X side. Prepare in parallel to be located.

  Further, the operation unit 4 includes an operation button group 43 and an operation button group 44 in parallel on the Y side of the LCD 41 and the operation button group 42. The operation button group 43 is arranged on the −X side with respect to the operation button group 44, and is used to instruct volume up, down, and mute. The operation button group 44 is for changing the setting of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1. This setting includes, for example, a selection setting for one of a first lighting mode and a second lighting mode described later.

  Note that the LCD 41 and the operation button groups 42 to 44 are all arranged with the Y side down, and can be operated and confirmed from the Y side.

  The LED lighting unit 5 includes a plurality (five in each embodiment) of linear LED lamps 51 on the −Y side and the Y side. The plurality of LED lamps 51 are arranged so as to be positioned on the same parabola extending in the XX direction. The lighting of each LED lamp 51 is independently controlled by a lighting control unit (not shown) attached to the inside of the top panel 20. Specifically, when the first lighting mode is set by the operation button group 44, the LED lamp 51 is controlled so that the directivity direction of the sound beam from the speaker array 231 described later is turned on. The As a result, the user can check the direction of the sound beam.

  When the second lighting mode is set, control is performed so that the directivity direction of the collected sound beam of the microphone array 24 described later is turned on. For the Y-side microphone array 24, the Y-side LED lamp 51 group is lit, and for the -Y-side microphone array 24, the -Y-side LED lamp 51 is lit. Thereby, it is possible to confirm whether or not sound is input, and the user can confirm the directivity direction of the collected sound beam.

  In the present embodiment, the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 has a function of controlling the sound collecting beam in a plurality of areas and detecting the position of the speaker based on the sound collecting level in each area. Therefore, in the second lighting mode, The user can check whether the position of the speaker is erroneously detected.

  Further, the light emission mode is controlled so as to change depending on the volume of the input / output sound. As a result, the user can check whether the sound is input and output at a sufficient volume.

  A connector group 6 with an external device is embedded in the side panel 22 (22A) on the X side (see FIG. 3A). The connector group 6 includes a modular jack 61 for connecting to a LAN such as Ethernet (registered trademark), a network such as the Internet, an audio input terminal 62A and an audio output terminal 62B for connecting to an audio device, and a power source. It consists of a power supply terminal 63.

  By inserting a modular cable plug (not shown) into the modular jack 61, the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 can be connected to a network. As a result, the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 can be connected to the network and can be communicably connected to the other party's audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1. For this reason, it is possible to perform a telephone call or a voice conference with the other party's voice signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1, thereby allowing the voice signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 to be used as an IP telephone or a voice conference apparatus. .

  FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 with the lower surface grill 21 removed. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the central portion of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 of FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 of FIG. FIG. 7 is a front view of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 of FIG.

  Both the speaker array 231 and the microphone array 24 are attached to a frame 25 that also serves as a baffle for the speaker array 231. The frame 25 is a box-shaped member in which four corners of a rectangular metal plate are bent upward. The speaker array 231 is mounted downward on the inside of the bottom surface of the frame 25, and the microphone array 24 has one row (microphone array 24A) embedded in one side surface (Y side surface) of the frame 25 and the other row (microphone array 24B). Is embedded in the other side surface (the side surface on the -Y side).

  Further, on the upper side of the frame 25, a lower end of a long cylindrical frame 232 is disposed so as to cover the side surface of the speaker array 231, and the upper end of the frame 232 covers the back of the speaker array 231. A top plate 233 having substantially the same dimensions as the bottom surface of the frame 25 is disposed.

  A support plate 26, which is a metal plate-like member, is attached to the side surface (longitudinal bent portion) of the frame 25 by screws 27A, and the upper end of the support plate 26 is bent inward. . The bent portion and the end of the top plate 233 in the short direction are attached by screws 27 </ b> B, whereby the frame body 232 is sandwiched between the top plate 233 and the bottom surface of the frame 25.

  As described above, the housing 23 </ b> A of the speaker array 231 is formed by a portion surrounded by the frame 25, the top plate 233, and the cylindrical frame body 232. A substrate (not shown) on which a control unit (not shown) for performing directivity control of the speaker array 231 and the microphone array 24 is attached to the upper surface of the housing 23A (upper surface of the top plate 233). The speaker device 23 includes a control unit, a housing 23A, and a speaker array 231.

  The speaker array 231 includes a plurality of (for example, 16) speaker units SP arranged in a substantially line shape, and a hole having the same size as the inner diameter of the speaker unit SP at the position of each speaker unit SP on the bottom surface of the frame 25. 251 is formed, and the sound emission side portion of the speaker unit SP is overlapped with the hole 251. In this manner, the bottom surface of the frame 25 and the speaker array 231 are attached by the screws 252 in a state where the speaker unit SP is superimposed on the hole 251. Thus, the sound emitting surface is attached so as to look from the bottom surface, and the sound of each speaker unit SP can be output from the bottom surface.

  As described above, by arranging the speaker array 231 toward the bottom surface of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1, the audio beam from the speaker array 231 is output below the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1. Since the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 is supported by the legs 3 at a predetermined height from the installation surface (for example, a table top), the audio beam is reflected by the installation surface and propagates obliquely upward. As a result, it is possible to efficiently provide an audio beam to a user whose head is located on the YY side of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1.

  Moreover, since the leg part 3 has an internal structure, it is possible to provide the user with sound without disturbing the sound emitted by the speaker array 231 or the reflected sound on the installation surface.

  The control unit (not shown) gives a delay time to the audio signal from the other party's audio signal transmission / reception device 1 input via the modular jack 61 (see FIG. 1), thereby controlling the directivity of the audio beam and receiving it from the other party. The D / A conversion or the level of the converted audio signal is amplified on the audio signal and input to the speaker array 231.

  As described above, the microphone array 24 includes a plurality of (for example, 16) microphones 241 arranged in a line over both side surfaces (longitudinal bent portions) of the frame 25. The microphones 241 are non-uniformly arranged so as to be dense toward the inside, and thereby, high-frequency sound with high directivity can be suitably collected.

  The microphone array 24 is supported from the opposite side of the frame 25 by a support plate 26 in which a notch 261 is formed at the position of the microphone 241, and the frame 25 and the support plate 26 in a state where the microphone 241 is fitted in the notch 261. And are screwed.

  As described above, the speaker array 231 is disposed toward the bottom surface of the speaker device 23, and the microphone arrays 24A and 24B are attached toward the side surfaces of the speaker device 23 (toward the side surfaces of the audio signal transmitting / receiving device 1). Thus, the sound collection surface of the microphone array 24 and the sound emission surface of the speaker array 231 can be disposed at a right angle. As described above, since the microphone array 24 can be arranged in a direction in which the sound pressure of the sound output from the speaker array 231 is low, acoustic coupling in which the sound from the speaker array 231 is input to the microphone array 24 is effectively performed. It becomes possible to prevent.

  Further, the microphone array 24A is disposed toward the Y side surface that is perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the speaker units, and the microphone array 24B is disposed toward the −Y side surface. The distance between the arrays 24A and 24B is substantially the same. For this reason, the sound that wraps around the microphone arrays 24A and 24B is substantially the same. The control unit (not shown) of the audio signal transmission / reception device 1 is configured so that when there is a user only on either the −Y side or the Y side, the microphone array 24 on the other side from the audio signal collected by the microphone array 24. The process of removing the audio signal picked up in step S <b> 1 is performed, and thereby, the audio signal that wraps around from the speaker array 231 can be effectively canceled.

  Each microphone 241 is a unidirectional microphone, and is attached to the frame 25 so that a hole (not shown) is positioned inside the frame 25, and in order to cancel the wraparound sound from the rear. A hole 253 is formed at the rear position of each microphone 241 on the bottom surface. In addition, five round holes 262 </ b> B are formed around each microphone 241 in the support plate 26, and long holes 262 </ b> A are formed between the microphones 241. The holes 253, 262 A, and 262 B are small holes that can secure the strength of the frame 25 and the support plate 26.

  By forming the holes 253, 262A, and 262B as described above, it is possible to prevent the microphone 241 from effectively canceling sound from directions other than the directional direction due to the acoustic resistance of the frame 25 and the support plate 26. It becomes possible.

  As described above, since the microphone 241 is a unidirectional microphone having low sensitivity to sound from the rear, the microphone 241 is disposed so that the sound collection surface of the microphone array 24 and the sound emission surface of the speaker array 231 are at right angles. Thus, the speaker array 231 can be disposed at a position where the microphone 241 has low directivity, and this also effectively suppresses the acoustic coupling.

  The microphone array 24 is connected to a control unit (not shown) by a signal line (not shown), and thereby inputs each signal collected by each microphone 241 to the control unit. Each input signal is subjected to directivity control by delay control after A / D conversion, and is transmitted to the other party's audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 via a modular jack 61 (see FIG. 1), a modular cable (not shown), and the like. Sent.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the speaker array 231 and the microphone array 24 are arranged in the same audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1, so that when the user performs an input operation on the pointing position, When the directivity position of the sound collection beam is the same, it is only necessary to perform one operation, and operability can be improved.

  When the user's position is automatically detected and the sound beam and the sound collection beam are directed to the detection position, the sound collection beam has the same directivity position as the sound beam.

  For this reason, compared with the prior art in which the device provided with the microphone array 24 and the device provided with the speaker array are separate and individually detect the user position, there is a false detection in the position of the user who directs the collected sound beam. This makes it possible for the user to recognize this erroneous detection relatively easily. That is, unlike the prior art, there is no possibility that the user position for directing the sound beam and the user position for directing the sound collection beam are different, so that the sound beam from the speaker array 231 cannot be heard, and both user positions are incorrect. It is possible to make the user recognize that there is a detection.

  In addition, since the speaker array 24 and the microphone array 231 are provided in the same apparatus main body 2, the sharable structure can be shared, so that the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 can be made compact.

  In addition, since the speaker array 231 and the microphone array 24 are disposed in the same apparatus main body 2, the sound wraparound state from the speaker array 231 to the microphone array 24 is greatly changed regardless of how the user installs the apparatus main body 2. Therefore, it is possible to perform the echo cancellation processing of the sound that goes around from the speaker array 231 to the microphone array 24 uniformly. Thereby, echo cancellation can be performed effectively.

(Second Embodiment)
An audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 ′ according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described below using FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 ′ according to the second embodiment. The audio signal transmitting / receiving device 1 ′ includes a long, substantially rectangular parallelepiped device body 2 ′, a speaker array 231 ′ embedded in the longitudinal direction on the upper surface of the device body 2 ′, and both sides of the speaker array 231 ′. Microphone arrays 24A 'and 24B' arranged in parallel with the speaker array 231 '.

  Since the speaker array 231 ′ is disposed on the upper surface as described above, the sound beam from the speaker array 231 ′ is output upward, reflected by the ceiling, and directed downward. The user listens to the sound beam output below.

  The distances between the microphone arrays 24A ′ and 24B ′ and the speaker array 231 ′ are substantially the same. As a result, as in the first embodiment, the sound that wraps around the microphone arrays 24A ′ and 24B ′ is substantially the same. The control unit (not shown) of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 ′ is configured such that when there is a user only on either the −Y side or the Y side, the microphone on the other side from the audio signal collected by the microphone array 24 ′. A process of removing the audio signal collected by the array 24 ′ is performed, and thereby, it is possible to effectively cancel the sound that has circulated from the speaker array 231 ′.

  Note that the configurations of the speaker array 231 ′ and the microphone array 24 ′ are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. However, each microphone 241 ′ constituting the microphone array 24 ′ is not a unidirectional microphone in the second embodiment.

  The audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 ′ is provided with a connector group 6 on the side surface on the X side, and has a function of communicating with the other party's audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 ′ as in the first embodiment. In addition, the operation unit 4 is embedded on the right side (X side) of the microphone array 24 ′ and the speaker array 231 ′ on the front surface (Y side surface) of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 ′.

  The speaker array 231 ′ and the microphone array 24 ′ are attached so that the sound emission direction and the sound collection direction are directly above, so that the sound emission direction of the speaker array 231 ′ and the sound collection direction of the microphone array 24 ′ are It is parallel.

  With the above configuration, in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the operability of the user is good, the user can easily recognize the setting position error, and the compactness can be achieved. Although it is possible, there is an effect that echo cancellation can be performed effectively.

  In addition, the sound output direction of the speaker array 231 ′ and the sound collection direction of the microphone array 24 ′ are parallel, whereby both the sound collection beam and the sound beam are used when the directivity areas of the sound collection beam and the sound beam are matched. Can be easily adjusted in the directional area so that the installation direction of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus 1 'can be easily adjusted.

  In the first and second embodiments, a plurality of microphone arrays 24, 24 'are arranged. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and one of the microphone arrays 24A, 24B, Any one of the microphone arrays 24A ′ and 24B ′ may be disposed.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of an audio | voice signal transmission / reception apparatus. 1A is a plan view of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2B is a rear view of the audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus viewed from the −Y side, and FIG. It is the front view seen from. (A) is the right view which looked at the audio | voice signal transmission / reception apparatus 1 from the X side, (B) is the left view which looked at the audio | voice signal transmission / reception apparatus 1 from the -X side. It is a bottom view of the state which removed the grill of the audio signal transceiver. It is a perspective view of the center part of the audio | voice signal transmission / reception apparatus 1 of FIG. It is AA sectional drawing of the audio | voice signal transmission / reception apparatus of FIG. It is a front view of the audio | voice signal transmission / reception apparatus of FIG. It is a perspective view of the audio | voice signal transmission / reception apparatus concerning 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1, 1'-Audio signal transmission / reception device 2, 2'-Device main body 3-Leg portion 4-Operation unit 231,231'-Speaker array SP-Speaker unit 24 (24A, 24B), 24 '(24A', 24B ' )-Microphone array 241-Microphone 61-Modular jack (connector) 62B-Audio output terminal (connector) 62A-Audio input terminal (connector)

Claims (2)

A long rectangular parallelepiped device body;
A speaker array comprising a plurality of speaker units arranged in the longitudinal direction of the apparatus main body toward the lower surface or the upper surface ;
A microphone array comprising a plurality of microphones arranged in the longitudinal direction of the apparatus body ;
Equipped with a,
A plurality of the microphone arrays are arranged, and one of the plurality of microphone arrays is arranged toward one side surface perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the speaker units among the side surfaces of the apparatus main body, and the other is directed to the other one side surface. An audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus characterized by being arranged . The microphone array and the speaker array are arranged so that the arrangement direction of the speaker units and the arrangement direction of the microphones are parallel, and the sound collection surface and the sound emission surface are at right angles.
The audio signal transmitting / receiving apparatus according to claim 1.

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