JP5842364B2 - Volume control device and volume control method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a volume control device and a volume control method, and more particularly to a volume control device and a volume control method for automatically controlling volume.

  A portable music player such as iPod (registered trademark) can easily listen to music anytime, regardless of location. There are various environments for listening to music. For example, a quiet place such as a home or a loud environment such as a train can be considered. Therefore, the user of the portable music player has to adjust the volume of the portable music player to an appropriate level according to the environment in order to hear the reproduced sound.

  For a portable device such as a portable music player having high portability, the volume adjustment according to the environment as described above is necessary. However, the user of the portable device cannot always perform the volume adjustment. For example, the user may not be able to adjust the volume of the portable device, such as when the hand is holding another object or while driving.

  In order to cope with the situation as described above, an automatic volume control device capable of automatically adjusting the volume of an acoustic device has been proposed (Patent Document 1). The automatic volume control device can measure the environmental noise with a microphone and adjust the volume according to the environmental noise with a simple configuration.

  In addition to this, a telephone has been proposed in which a user's auditory characteristics and pronunciation characteristics are learned in advance, and a reception volume and a transmission volume are automatically optimized based on a learning result (Patent Document 2).

JP 2004-297747 A JP-A-8-163212

  However, the inventor has found that the above-described technique has the following problems. When sound is reproduced in an environment where noise is high, the sound is generally reproduced at a high volume. In this state, playback may be stopped and the user may move to an environment with low noise. Thereafter, if the user forgets that the reproduction is performed in a noisy environment, the reproduction is resumed as it is. Then, although the environment is low in noise, the sound is reproduced with a high volume. For this reason, the sound may be reproduced at an excessive volume with respect to the environment.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a volume control device and a volume control capable of automatically adjusting to an appropriate volume with respect to environmental noise at the start of audio reproduction. Is to provide a method.

  A volume control apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes command input means for inputting a reproduction start command, environmental sound measurement means for outputting a noise level signal corresponding to the measured magnitude of environmental noise, and magnitude of environmental noise. A playback volume storage means storing a playback volume corresponding to the sound volume, an audio data storage means storing audio data to be played back, and a playback start command from the command input means. Computing means for reading out the first reproduction volume corresponding to the noise level calculated from the noise level signal at the time of reproduction from the reproduction volume storage means, and reading out the audio data to be reproduced from the audio data storage means; Volume control for receiving the first reproduction volume and the audio data read by the means and adjusting the volume of the audio signal generated from the audio data to the first reproduction volume And the step, in which and an audio output means for outputting a sound corresponding to the audio signal.

The volume control method according to one aspect of the present invention generates a noise level signal corresponding to the measured level of environmental noise, calculates the noise level from the noise level signal when receiving a reproduction start command, and calculates The first reproduction volume corresponding to the noise level is read from the reproduction volume storage means storing the reproduction volume corresponding to the noise level, and the audio data to be reproduced is stored in the audio data to be reproduced. Read out from the audio data storage means, generate an audio signal from the read out audio data, adjust the volume of the audio signal to the first reproduction volume,
The audio signal is output.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a sound volume control device and a sound volume control method that can automatically adjust to a sound volume appropriate for environmental noise at the start of sound reproduction.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a volume control device 100 according to a first embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the volume control apparatus 100 at the time of the reproduction | regeneration start of audio | voice. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the volume control apparatus 100 when a volume adjustment command is received during audio | voice reproduction | regeneration. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the volume control apparatus 200 concerning Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the volume control apparatus 200 at the time of the audio | voice reproduction | regeneration start. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the volume control apparatus 200 when a volume adjustment command is received during audio | voice reproduction | regeneration.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted as necessary.

Embodiment 1
A volume control apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The volume control device 100 is mounted on a portable device such as a portable music player, and automatically adjusts the volume at the time of sound reproduction on the portable device. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a volume control device 100 according to the first embodiment. The volume control device 100 includes a CPU 11, a microphone 12, a memory 13, a volume control unit 14, a speaker 15, and an input unit 16. The CPU 11, the microphone 12, the memory 13, the volume control unit 14, the speaker 15 and the input unit 16 correspond to a calculation unit, an environmental sound measurement unit, a storage unit, a volume control unit, a sound output unit, and a command input unit, respectively.

  The CPU 11 controls the operation of the volume control device 100. Specifically, the CPU 11 controls operations of the microphone 12, the memory 13, and the volume control unit 14. The microphone 12 is a sound collector such as a microphone. The microphone 12 outputs a noise level signal Sb corresponding to ambient environmental noise to the CPU 11.

  The memory 13 is a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, for example. The memory 13 includes an audio data storage unit 131 and a reproduction volume table 132. The audio data storage unit 131 corresponds to audio data storage means, and the reproduction volume table 132 corresponds to reproduction volume storage means. The audio data storage unit 131 stores audio data to be reproduced such as music. The reproduction volume table 132 stores a reproduction level corresponding to the noise level.

  The volume control unit 14 controls the playback volume level of the audio data according to a command from the CPU 11. The playback volume level is notified from the CPU 11. The speaker 15 outputs sound obtained by reproducing the sound signal Sout from the volume control unit 14. The input unit 16 is a mechanism for operating a mobile device on which the volume control device 100 is mounted, such as a button provided on an operation unit of the mobile device. The input unit 16 outputs a volume adjustment command, a playback command, a stop command, and the like to the CPU 11 in accordance with a user operation.

  Next, the operation of the volume control device 100 will be described. First, the operation at the start of audio reproduction will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the volume control device 100 at the start of audio reproduction. First, the CPU 11 receives a reproduction start command PLAY from the input unit 16 (step S101).

  The CPU 11 outputs a measurement start signal S1 to the microphone 12. The microphone 12 starts measuring environmental noise in response to the measurement start signal S1, and outputs the noise level signal Sb to the CPU 11 (step S102).

  The CPU 11 calculates the noise level Lb from the noise level signal Sb (step S103). The CPU 11 reads the reproduction volume level Lp corresponding to the noise level Lb from the reproduction volume table 132 stored in advance in the memory 13. Further, the CPU 11 reads the audio data Dat to be reproduced from the audio data storage unit 131 stored in advance in the memory 13 (step S104). For example, when the noise level Lb is “large”, “medium”, and “small”, the corresponding reproduction volume levels of “large”, “medium”, and “small” are read out.

  Then, the CPU 11 outputs a playback level signal Sp generated from the playback volume level Lp to the volume control unit 14. Further, the CPU 11 outputs the read audio data Dat to the volume control unit 14 (step S105). Note that the CPU 11 sequentially reads the audio data Dat during audio reproduction, and continuously outputs the read audio data Dat to the volume control unit 14. Thereby, sound is continuously output from the speaker 15.

  The volume control unit 14 converts the audio data Dat into an audio signal Sout. At this time, the volume control unit 14 determines the level of the audio signal Sout based on the reproduction level signal Sp. Then, the volume control unit 14 outputs the audio signal Sout to the speaker 15 (step S106). The speaker 15 converts the audio signal Sout into sound and outputs it (step S107).

  The microphone 12 continues measuring environmental noise until it receives the stop signal S2 from the CPU 11. The CPU 11 calculates the latest noise level Lb_new from the noise level signal Sb continuously output from the microphone 12.

  As described above, the volume control device 100 selects an appropriate reproduction volume with reference to the environmental noise at the start of reproduction in accordance with the reproduction start command PLAY from the user. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the sound from being reproduced with an excessively small or excessive volume. Thereby, the user does not need to adjust the volume every time playback is performed, and can comfortably listen to the sound.

  Next, an operation in the case where the playback volume is changed according to a user command during playback of audio will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the volume control device 100 when a volume adjustment command is received during audio playback. First, the input unit 16 is in a command input waiting state. If there is a volume adjustment command from the user, the input unit 16 outputs the volume adjustment command ADJ to the CPU 11 (step S111).

  The CPU 11 calculates a command volume level Lc from the volume adjustment command ADJ, and converts the command volume level Lc into a command playback level signal Sc. Then, the CPU 11 outputs a command reproduction level signal Sc to the volume control unit 14 (step S112). As described above, the CPU 11 continuously outputs the audio data Dat to the volume control unit 14.

  The volume control unit 14 converts the audio data Dat into an audio signal Sout_c. At this time, the volume control unit 14 determines the level of the audio signal Sout_c based on the newly received command reproduction level signal Sc. Then, the volume control unit 14 outputs the audio signal Sout_c to the speaker 15 (step S113). The speaker 15 converts the audio signal Sout_c into sound and outputs it (step S114).

  Further, the CPU 11 refers to the noise level Lb_new from the microphone 12 at the time of receiving the volume adjustment command ADJ, and reads the reproduction volume level Lp corresponding to the noise level Lb_new. Then, the CPU 11 compares the command volume level Lc with the read reproduction volume level Lp (step S115). If the command volume level Lc is different from the read playback volume level Lp, the command volume level Lc is overwritten on the playback volume table 132 as a playback volume level corresponding to the noise level Lb_new (step S116).

  As an example, a case where the noise level Lb_new is “1”, the command volume level Lc is “3”, and the read reproduction volume level Lp is “2” will be described. In this case, the CPU 11 overwrites the reproduction volume table 132 with “3” as the reproduction volume level corresponding to the noise level “1”.

  As described above, the volume control device 100 adjusts the reproduction volume according to the volume adjustment command from the user, and sequentially updates the relationship between the noise level and the command volume. Thereby, it is possible to correct the relationship between the noise level and the command volume so as to suit the user's preference every time the user adjusts the volume. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a volume control device that can provide a comfortable voice listening environment regardless of individual differences in hearing.

Embodiment 2
Next, the volume control apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the configuration of the volume control device 200 according to the second embodiment. The volume control device 200 has a configuration in which the memory 13 of the volume control device 100 according to the first embodiment is replaced with a memory 23. The memory 23 corresponds to a storage unit. Since the other configuration of the volume control device 200 is the same as that of the volume control device 100, the description thereof is omitted.

  The memory 23 is a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, for example. The memory 23 includes an audio data storage unit 231, playback volume tables 232_1 and 232_2, and a playback mode information storage unit 233. The audio data storage unit 231 corresponds to audio data storage means, and the reproduction volume tables 232_1 and 232_2 correspond to reproduction volume storage means. The playback mode information storage unit corresponds to playback mode information storage means.

  Similar to the audio data storage unit 131, the audio data storage unit 231 stores audio data to be reproduced such as music. Similar to the reproduction volume table 132, the reproduction volume tables 232_1 and 232_2 store reproduction levels corresponding to noise levels. The reproduction volume tables 232_1 and 232_2 correspond to different reproduction modes. The user can select a desired playback mode through the input unit 16. The reproduction mode selected by the user is stored in the reproduction mode information storage unit 233. For example, the reproduction volume table 232_1 is used when audio is reproduced at home, and the reproduction volume table 232_2 is used when audio is reproduced while walking.

  Next, the operation of the volume control device 200 will be described. First, the operation at the start of audio reproduction will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the volume control device 200 at the start of audio reproduction. First, in response to a user operation, the input unit 16 outputs a playback mode signal MODE to the CPU 11 (step S201). When the CPU 11 receives the playback mode signal MODE, the CPU 11 overwrites the playback mode information storage 233 with the corresponding playback mode information Inf (step S202). Subsequent steps S203 and S204 are the same as steps S101 and S102 of FIG.

  After step S204, the CPU 11 reads the reproduction mode information Inf from the reproduction mode information storage unit and recognizes the designated reproduction mode. Thus, the CPU 11 identifies which one of the reproduction volume tables 232_1 and 232_2 is to be used for sound reproduction (step S205). Thereafter, the CPU 11 calculates a noise level Lb from the noise level signal Sb (step S206).

  Then, the CPU 11 reads the reproduction volume level Lp_1 or Lp_2 corresponding to the noise level Lb from the reproduction volume table 232_1 or 232_2 corresponding to the read reproduction mode. That is, when the reproduction mode k is represented by 1 or 2, the CPU 11 reads the reproduction volume level Lp_k corresponding to the noise level Lb from the reproduction volume table 232_k corresponding to the read reproduction mode k. For example, if the playback mode is 1, the CPU 11 reads the playback volume level Lp_1 corresponding to the noise level Lb from the playback volume table 232_1. Further, the CPU 11 reads the audio data Dat to be reproduced from the audio data storage unit 231 stored in advance in the memory 23 (step S207). For example, when the noise level Lb is “large”, “medium”, and “small”, the corresponding reproduction volume levels of “large”, “medium”, and “small” are read out.

  Then, the CPU 11 outputs a playback level signal Sp_k generated from the playback volume level Lp_k to the volume control unit 14. The CPU 11 outputs the read audio data Dat to the volume control unit 14 (step S208). Note that the CPU 11 sequentially reads the audio data Dat during audio reproduction, and continuously outputs the read audio data Dat to the volume control unit 14. Thereby, sound is continuously output from the speaker 15.

  The volume control unit 14 converts the audio data Dat into an audio signal Sout. At this time, the volume control unit 14 determines the level of the audio signal Sout based on the reproduction level signal Sp_k. Then, the volume control unit 14 outputs the audio signal Sout to the speaker 15 (step S209). The speaker 15 converts the sound signal Sout into sound and outputs it (step S210).

  Further, the microphone 12 continues measuring environmental noise until it receives a stop signal S2 from the CPU 11. The CPU 11 calculates the latest noise level Lb_new from the noise level signal Sb continuously output from the microphone 12.

  As described above, the volume control device 200 selects an appropriate reproduction volume with reference to the environmental noise at the start of reproduction in accordance with the reproduction start command PLAY from the user. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the sound from being reproduced with an excessively small or excessive volume. Thereby, the user does not need to adjust the volume every time playback is performed, and can comfortably listen to the sound.

  Further, according to this configuration, the user can select an appropriate reproduction mode according to the surrounding environment. Thereby, the user can listen to the voice more comfortably.

  Next, the operation of the volume control device 200 when the playback volume is changed according to a user command during audio playback will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the volume control device 200 when a volume adjustment command is received during audio playback. Steps S211 to S214 are the same as steps S111 to S114 in FIG.

  After step S214, the CPU 11 refers to the noise level Lb_new from the microphone 12 at the time of receiving the volume adjustment command ADJ, and reads the reproduction volume level Lp_k corresponding to the noise level Lb_new from the reproduction volume table 232_k. Then, the CPU 11 compares the command volume level Lc with the read reproduction volume level Lp_k (step S215). If the command volume level Lc is different from the read playback volume level Lp_k, the command volume level Lc is overwritten on the playback volume table 232_k as a playback volume level corresponding to the noise level Lb_new (step S216).

  As described above, the volume control device 200 can appropriately change the playback volume table to be used in accordance with the playback mode setting command from the user. Thereby, the automatic sound volume control apparatus which can provide the comfortable sound listening environment adapted to the surrounding environment can be provided.

  Further, according to this configuration, an appropriate volume can be overwritten on the reproduction on consideration table for each set reproduction mode. As a result, it is possible to provide an automatic sound volume control device that can provide a comfortable audio listening environment adapted to the surrounding environment regardless of the playback mode.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the number of playback volume tables in the memory 23 of the volume control device 200 is not limited to 2, and can be an arbitrary number of 3 or more.

  Further, the playback volume level stored in the playback volume table may be preset information of the apparatus, or the user can set it via the input unit 16.

11 CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Microphone 13, 23 Memory 14 Volume control part 15 Speaker 16 Input part 23 Memory 100, 200 Volume control apparatus 131,231 Audio data storage part 132,232_1,232_2,232_k Playback volume table 233 Playback mode information storage part ADJ Volume adjustment command Dat Audio data Inf Playback mode information Lb Noise level Lb_new Noise level Lc Command volume level Lp, Lp_1, Lp_k Playback level MODE Playback mode signal PLAY Playback start command S1 Measurement start signal S2 Stop signal Sb Noise level signal Sc Command playback level signal Sout, Sout_c Audio signal Sp, Sp_k Playback level signal

Claims (3)

Command input means for inputting a playback start command for audio data to be played and a playback mode command for designating one of a plurality of playback modes of the audio data ;
Environmental sound measuring means for outputting a noise level signal corresponding to the magnitude of the measured environmental noise;
Storage means having a plurality of playback volume storage means for playback volume is stored that corresponds to the magnitude of the environmental noise, and voice data storage means for the voice data is stored, the each of the plurality of reproduction modes,
A first reproduction volume corresponding to a noise level calculated from the noise level signal when receiving the reproduction start command from the command input means in the reproduction mode designated by the reproduction mode command is read from the reproduction volume storage means. calculating means for reading out read the audio data from the audio data storage means,
Volume control means for receiving the first reproduction volume and the audio data read by the computing means, and adjusting a volume of an audio signal generated from the audio data to the first reproduction volume;
Voice output means for outputting voice according to the voice signal ,
If the volume control command is input to the command input means in a state in which the first playback volume is used as the volume of the audio signal in the playback mode said designated by the reproduction mode command,
The calculation means outputs the second reproduction volume designated by the volume adjustment command from the command input means to the volume control means,
The volume control means changes the volume of the audio signal generated from the audio data from the first reproduction volume to the second reproduction volume,
When the first reproduction volume and the second reproduction volume are different, the calculation means is configured to increase the environmental noise in the reproduction mode designated by the reproduction mode command when receiving the volume adjustment command. The second playback volume is overwritten on the playback volume storage means as a volume corresponding to
Volume control device. The playback volume stored in the playback volume storage means is set by a command from the command input means,
The volume control device according to claim 1 . Generate a noise level signal according to the measured environmental noise level,
The noise level is calculated from the noise level signal when receiving a reproduction start instruction for the audio data to be reproduced,
Reading out the first reproduction volume in the reproduction mode designated by the reproduction mode command corresponding to the calculated noise level from the reproduction volume storing means storing the reproduction volume corresponding to the noise level;
The audio data read from the previous voice data storage means for Kion voice data is stored,
Generate an audio signal from the read audio data,
Adjusting the volume of the audio signal to the first playback volume;
Outputting the audio signal;
If the volume control command is input to the command input means in a state in which the first playback volume is used as the volume of the audio signal in the playback mode said designated by the reproduction mode command,
Changing the volume of the audio signal generated from the audio data from the first playback volume to the second playback volume specified by the input volume adjustment command;
When the first reproduction volume is different from the second reproduction volume, the volume corresponding to the magnitude of the environmental noise in the reproduction mode designated by the reproduction mode command when receiving the volume adjustment command The second playback volume is overwritten on the playback volume storage means,
Volume control method.

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