JP6795775B1 - Speaker device, rotation control program, and information processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily implement a speaker orientation detection function. A speaker device (10) includes a speaker (11), a first motor (12), an acceleration sensor (14), and a rotation control device (16). The first motor 12 rotates the speaker 11 about a horizontal first rotation axis. The acceleration sensor 14 is attached to a position that rotates with the speaker 11 and measures acceleration in a predetermined axial direction. The rotation control device 16 instructs the first motor 12 to rotate, acquires information indicating acceleration from the acceleration sensor 14 after the rotation of the first motor 12 according to the instruction is stopped, and is based on the information indicating acceleration. Then, the angle difference between the direction of the speaker 11 and the direction of gravity is calculated. [Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

The present invention relates to a speaker device, a rotation control program, and an information processing system.

In a large facility such as a shopping center, it may be desired to deliver audio only to a specific person among a plurality of people in the facility. In that case, by pointing the parametric speaker at the person and outputting the sound from the parametric speaker, the sound can be delivered only to that person. The parametric speaker is a speaker capable of outputting sound having sharp directivity by using, for example, ultrasonic waves.

A speaker device having a parametric speaker has, for example, a motor for changing the direction of the parametric speaker and a rotation control device for controlling the rotation of the motor. The rotation control device instructs the motor to rotate so that the parametric speaker faces the direction in which the target person is. When the rotation of the motor in response to the instruction is stopped, the voice for the person sent from the host computer is output from the parametric speaker.

As a technique related to a parametric speaker, for example, a voice communication device that controls the frequency of ultrasonic waves output from the parametric speaker based on the angle of the user's ear position has been proposed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-55076

A stepping motor can be used as a motor for changing the direction of the parametric speaker. However, in the stepping motor, for example, due to step-out, the rotation amount of the motor may deviate from the rotation amount instructed by the rotation control device. If such a deviation is left unattended, the amount of deviation in the direction of the speaker gradually increases, and it becomes impossible to deliver the voice to the target person to be called.

Therefore, it is conceivable to detect the actual orientation of the speaker at a predetermined timing. However, in general equipment for detecting the orientation of a rotating body, it is required to attach a module (encoder, photointerruptor, mechanical switch, etc.) to the outside, which imposes restrictions on the structural design of the speaker device. If the structural design is severely restricted, the speaker orientation detection function can be mounted only on the speaker device having a sufficient mounting space, and the speaker device capable of mounting the speaker orientation detection function is limited.

In one aspect, the present case aims to facilitate the implementation of speaker orientation detection features.

One proposal provides a speaker device having a speaker, a first motor, an acceleration sensor, and a rotation control device.
The first motor rotates the speaker about a horizontal first rotation axis. The acceleration sensor is attached to a position that rotates with the speaker and measures acceleration in a predetermined axial direction. The rotation control device instructs the first motor to rotate. Next, the rotation control device acquires information indicating acceleration from the acceleration sensor after the rotation of the first motor according to the instruction is stopped. Then, the rotation control device calculates the angle difference between the direction of the speaker and the direction of gravity based on the information indicating the acceleration.

According to one aspect, the speaker orientation detection function can be easily implemented.

It is a figure which shows an example of the speaker apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the information processing system configuration which makes a call. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of a speaker apparatus. It is a figure which shows one configuration example of the hardware of a rotation control device and a controller. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware of a host computer. It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship between the position with respect to a speaker, and a sound pressure level. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the function of the rotation control device. It is a figure which shows an example of the rotation axis of an acceleration sensor when it rotates in the direction of gravity. It is a figure which shows an example of the calculation method of the angle difference in the direction of gravity using the measured value of an acceleration sensor. It is a figure which shows an example of the calculation method of the angle difference in the direction of gravity using the measured value of a gyro sensor. It is a figure which shows the calculation example of the error of the angle difference in the direction of gravity at the time of returning to the origin. It is a figure which shows an example of the origin direction in the rotation in a horizontal direction. It is a figure which shows an example of the calculation method of the angle difference in the horizontal direction using the measured value of a gyro sensor. It is a figure which shows the calculation example of the error of the angle difference in a horizontal direction. It is a flowchart (1/2) which shows an example of the procedure of the speaker device initialization processing at the time of power-on. It is a flowchart (2/2) which shows an example of the procedure of the speaker device initialization processing at the time of power-on. It is a flowchart (1/2) which shows an example of the procedure of the rotation control for calling and the origin return processing. It is a flowchart (2/2) which shows an example of the procedure of the rotation control for calling and the origin return processing. It is a figure which shows an example of the correction method of the direction of a speaker before a voice call. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the control procedure of the direction of a speaker before a voice call. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of the horizontal rotation processing which accompanies the correction in the middle of rotation. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of the directional rotation process of gravity with the correction in the middle of rotation. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of the initialization processing when the gyro sensor is not used.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that each embodiment can be implemented by combining a plurality of embodiments within a consistent range.
[First Embodiment]
First, the first embodiment will be described. The first embodiment is a speaker device capable of detecting the orientation of the speaker by using an acceleration sensor or a geomagnetic sensor.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a speaker device according to the first embodiment. The speaker device 10 includes a speaker 11, a first motor 12, a second motor 13, an acceleration sensor 14, a geomagnetic sensor 15, and a rotation control device 16.

The speaker 11 is, for example, a parametric speaker having super directivity.
The first motor 12 rotates the speaker 11 about a horizontal first rotation axis. The rotation centered on the first horizontal rotation axis is a rotation in a plane parallel to the direction of gravity (also called vertical), and therefore can also be called a rotation in the direction of gravity.

The second motor 13 rotates the speaker 11 around a second rotation axis parallel to the direction of gravity. The rotation about the second rotation axis parallel to the direction of gravity is the rotation in the horizontal plane, so it can also be called the rotation in the horizontal direction.

The acceleration sensor 14 measures acceleration in a predetermined axial direction. In the example of FIG. 1, the acceleration sensor 14 measures acceleration in the three axial directions of X, Y, and Z. Further, the acceleration sensor 14 is attached at a position where it rotates with the speaker 11. Therefore, the direction of the gravitational acceleration measured by the acceleration sensor 14 changes according to the orientation of the speaker 11.

The geomagnetic sensor 15 is attached to a position that rotates with the speaker 11 and measures the direction of the geomagnetism.
The rotation control device 16 has, for example, a storage unit 16a and a processing unit 16b. The storage unit 16a is a memory or storage device. The processing unit 16b is a processor or an arithmetic circuit. The storage unit 16a stores, for example, information indicating acceleration acquired from the acceleration sensor 14, information indicating the direction of geomagnetism acquired from the geomagnetic sensor 15, information indicating the direction of origin, and the like. Further, the storage unit 16a can store a rotation control program that describes the processing executed by the processing unit 16b. For example, the processing unit 16b controls the rotation of the speaker 11 by executing the rotation control program in the storage unit 16a. That is, the process executed by the rotation control device 16 in the following description is realized by the processing unit 16b executing the rotation control program.

The rotation control device 16 controls the rotation of the first motor 12 and the second motor 13. Further, the rotation control device 16 calculates the angle difference in the direction of gravity of the speaker 11 based on the measured value of the acceleration sensor 14. Further, the rotation control device 16 calculates the horizontal angle difference of the speaker 11 based on the measured value of the geomagnetic sensor 15. Here, the direction of the speaker 11 is, for example, the front of the radiation surface (normal direction) of the speaker 11. The angle difference in the direction of gravity of the speaker 11 is represented by, for example, the angle (angle difference) formed by the direction of the speaker 11 and the direction of gravity. Further, the angle difference in the horizontal direction of the speaker 11 is represented by, for example, an angle (angle difference) formed by the orientation of the speaker 11 when the orientation of the speaker 11 is horizontal and the preset origin orientation.

For example, the rotation control device 16 instructs the first motor 12 to rotate, and after the rotation of the first motor 12 according to the instruction is stopped, the rotation control device 16 acquires information indicating acceleration from the acceleration sensor 14. Then, the rotation control device 16 calculates the angle difference (θ _y ) in the direction of gravity of the speaker 11 based on the acquired information indicating the acceleration. The method of calculating the angle difference (θ _y ) in the direction of gravity will be described in detail in the second embodiment.

In this way, the angle difference in the direction of gravity of the speaker 11 can be detected based on the measured value of the acceleration sensor 14. The acceleration sensor 14 has a size that can be accommodated in, for example, one IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, and has a high degree of freedom regarding the mounting location. That is, it is easy to attach the acceleration sensor 14 to a position that rotates with the speaker 11. Therefore, by making it possible to detect the angle difference in the direction of gravity of the speaker 11 based on the measured value of the acceleration sensor 14, it is easy to implement the detection function of the orientation of the speaker 11 on the speaker device 10.

Further, the rotation control device 16 sets the rotation angle of the speaker 11 in the direction of gravity and the first designated angle which is the angle of the first rotation instruction of the speaker 11 based on the angle difference in the direction of gravity of the speaker 11. The error (first error) can also be calculated. For example, the rotation control device 16 outputs a first rotation instruction to the first motor 12 to rotate the speaker 11 about the first rotation axis by the first designated angle. The rotation control device 16 calculates a first error between the rotation angle of the speaker 11 and the first designated angle in response to the first rotation instruction, based on the angle difference in the direction of gravity of the speaker 11 after the rotation is completed. To do. For example, when the state in which the speaker 11 is oriented in the direction of gravity is the initial state, the rotation control device 16 outputs the first rotation instruction from the initial state to the first motor 12. In this case, the rotation control device 16 calculates the difference between the angle difference in the direction of gravity of the speaker 11 after the rotation is completed and the first designated angle as the first error.

This makes it possible to easily calculate the rotation error when the speaker 11 is rotated in the direction of gravity. When the first error is calculated, the rotation control device 16 outputs a correction rotation instruction for rotating the speaker 11 by the amount of the first error in the direction of reducing the first error to the first motor 12. You may. As a result, the rotation error is corrected, and the direction of the speaker 11 can be accurately adjusted to the target direction.

The rotation control device 16 performs the correction of the first error, for example, when the direction of the speaker 11 is returned to the origin (direction toward the origin). In the case of home return, the angle difference in the direction of gravity of the speaker 11 after the rotation instruction for home return is the first error.

The rotation control device 16 calculates the horizontal angle difference of the speaker 11 by, for example, the following procedure. First, the rotation control device 16 instructs the second motor 13 to rotate, and after the rotation of the second motor 13 according to the instruction is stopped, the geomagnetic sensor 15 determines the direction of the geomagnetism (direction of the north pole or the south pole). Get the information shown. Then, the rotation control device 16 has an angle difference (horizontal direction) between the orientation of the speaker 11 when the orientation of the speaker 11 is horizontal and the origin orientation preset in the horizontal direction based on the information indicating the geomagnetic direction. Angle difference) is calculated.

For example, it is assumed that the origin direction is magnetic south (S pole direction). Further, the geomagnetic sensor 15 shall output information indicating the magnetic north (N pole) direction. In this case, the rotation control device 16 recognizes the direction "180 °" opposite to the direction of the geomagnetism output by the geomagnetic sensor 15 as the origin direction. Further, the information indicating the direction of the geomagnetism output by the geomagnetic sensor 15 indicates the direction of the geomagnetism relative to the direction of the speaker 11. That is, the horizontal angle difference of the speaker 11 is shown. Therefore, the rotation control device 16 has an angle between the origin orientation (there is a difference of 180 ° from the geomagnetic direction) and the orientation of the speaker 11 when the orientation of the speaker 11 is horizontal, based on the information indicating the direction of the geomagnetism. The difference can be calculated. For example, when the counterclockwise direction is a positive rotation direction, the direction of the speaker 11 is the direction of the speaker 11 if the direction of the geomagnetism (N pole) with respect to the direction of the speaker 11 is "100 °" when the direction of the speaker 11 is horizontal. The direction of the origin orientation with respect to is the direction of "-80 °". That is, the angle difference (horizontal angle difference) between the origin direction and the direction of the speaker 11 is "80 °".

In this way, the horizontal angle difference of the speaker 11 can be detected based on the measured value of the geomagnetic sensor 15. Like the acceleration sensor 14, the geomagnetic sensor 15 has a size that can be accommodated in, for example, one IC chip, and has a high degree of freedom regarding the mounting location. That is, it is easy to attach the geomagnetic sensor 15 to a position that rotates with the speaker 11. Therefore, by making it possible to detect the angle difference in the horizontal direction of the speaker 11 based on the measured value of the geomagnetic sensor 15, it is easy to implement the direction detection function of the speaker 11.

Further, the rotation control device 16 has a horizontal rotation angle of the speaker 11 and a second designated angle which is a second horizontal rotation instruction angle of the speaker 11 based on the horizontal angle difference of the speaker 11. The error (second error) can also be calculated. For example, the rotation control device 16 outputs a second rotation instruction to the second motor 13 to rotate the speaker 11 about the second rotation axis by a second designated angle. Then, the rotation control device 16 calculates a second error between the rotation angle of the speaker 11 and the second designated angle in response to the second rotation instruction, based on the angle difference in the horizontal direction of the speaker 11.

This makes it possible to easily calculate the rotation error when the speaker 11 is rotated in the horizontal direction. When the second error is calculated, the rotation control device 16 outputs a correction rotation instruction to the second motor 13 to rotate the speaker 11 by the amount of the second error in the direction of reducing the second error. May be good. As a result, the rotation error is corrected, and the direction of the speaker 11 can be accurately adjusted to the target direction.

It is also possible to attach a gyro sensor that measures the angular velocity of rotation to the speaker device 10. The gyro sensor is attached to a position that rotates with the speaker 11. The rotation control device 16 can calculate the rotation angle during the rotation of the speaker 11 and correct the error by using the gyro sensor.

For example, the rotation control device 16 outputs a number of pulse signals corresponding to the first designated angle to the first motor 12. Next, the rotation control device 16 periodically acquires information indicating the angular velocity from the gyro sensor during rotation about the first rotation axis of the speaker 11. Then, the rotation control device 16 calculates the rotation angle around the first rotation axis of the speaker 11 based on the acquired information indicating the angular velocity. The rotation control device 16 calculates the difference between the angle obtained by multiplying the number of pulse signals output by a predetermined timing by the rotation angle of the first motor 12 per pulse and the calculated rotation angle. Then, the rotation control device 16 corrects the number of pulses to be output after a predetermined timing according to the calculated difference. For example, when the calculated rotation angle is less than the angle corresponding to the number of output pulse signals, the rotation control device 16 corrects the error by increasing the number of pulses output thereafter.

By using the measured value of the gyro sensor in this way, the rotation angle can be calculated even during the rotation of the speaker 11, and the error can be corrected during the rotation. Moreover, the gyro sensor has a size that fits in the IC chip like the acceleration sensor 14 or the geomagnetic sensor 15, and is easy to mount.

The rotation control device 16 may control the rotation according to the first designated angle of the rotation in the direction of gravity by dividing it into an acceleration section, a constant velocity section, and a deceleration section. In this case, the rotation control device 16 shortens the output interval of the pulse signal with the passage of time in the acceleration section. Further, the rotation control device 16 outputs a pulse signal at regular intervals in the constant velocity section. Further, the rotation control device 16 lengthens the output interval of the pulse signal with the passage of time in the deceleration section.

The rotation control device 16 sets a predetermined timing for correcting the error, for example, when the output of the pulse signal corresponding to at least one section of the acceleration section, the constant velocity section, and the deceleration section is completed. As a result, the speaker 11 can be smoothly rotated even if a rotation error occurs.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, in an information processing system that uses a parametric speaker to speak to a specific person, an error in the orientation of the parametric speaker is appropriately corrected.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an information processing system configuration for calling out. The information processing system shown in FIG. 2 is installed in a facility such as a store. The target person 21 in the facility where the information processing system is installed is, for example, a person who shows suspicious behavior in the facility and is a person to be called out. A camera 42 and a speaker device 30 are installed in the facility where the information processing system is installed. The information processing system shown in FIG. 2 detects the target person 21 by the camera 42, and outputs sound to the target person 21 by the speaker included in the speaker device 30.

The host computer 300 detects the target person 21 and controls the speaker device 30. The host computer 300 acquires an image (or video) taken by the camera 42 and detects the target person 21. Further, the host computer 300 controls the sound output from the speaker device 30 via the controller 200. For example, the host computer 300 determines the size and content (audio file) of the sound output from the speaker device 30, and transmits the corresponding voice signal to the speaker device 30.

Further, the host computer 300 instructs the direction of the radiation portion of the speaker included in the speaker device 30 via the controller 200. For example, the host computer 300 specifies the relative positional relationship (relative position) between the target person 21 and the speaker device 30 based on the captured image of the target person 21. The position where the speaker device 30 is installed and the front direction (direction) in the horizontal rotation of the speaker device 30 are set in advance in the host computer 300. Next, the host computer 300 calculates the rotation angle for directing the speaker of the speaker device 30 toward the target person 21 based on the relative position between the target person 21 and the speaker device 30. The host computer 300 notifies the speaker device 30 of the calculated rotation angle. The speaker device 30 rotates the motor by the number of rotations corresponding to the notified rotation angle. Then, the host computer 300 transmits an audio signal of the voice output from the speaker to the target person 21 to the speaker device 30 after the rotation of the motor in response to the rotation instruction is completed.

Next, the structure of the speaker device 30 will be described.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the speaker device. The speaker device 30 is installed on the ceiling by a base 34 and a support column 35. The strut 35 is a columnar strut extending vertically downward from the center of the base 34. The support column 35 is rotated by the motor 32a. The rotation of the support column 35 by the motor 32a is a variation in the angular displacement of the rotation about the horizontal rotation axis 37a extending in the vertical direction through the center of the base 34. The fluctuation of the angular displacement of the rotation about the horizontal rotation axis 37a is called the horizontal rotation, and the angular displacement of the rotation about the horizontal rotation axis 37a is sometimes called the horizontal angular displacement. The motor 32a is an example of the second motor 13 (see FIG. 1) in the first embodiment.

A speaker 33 is installed on the support column 35. The speaker 33 is rotated by the shaft of the motor 32b. The rotation of the speaker 33 by the motor 32b is a variation in the angular displacement of the rotation about the vertical rotation shaft 37b extending perpendicular to the support column 35. The fluctuation of the angular displacement of rotation about the vertical rotation axis 37b is called the rotation in the direction of gravity, and the angular displacement of the rotation about the vertical rotation axis 37b is sometimes called the angular displacement in the direction of gravity. The motor 32b is an example of the first motor 12 (see FIG. 1) in the first embodiment.

The speaker 33 is a parametric speaker having super directivity. The speaker 33 has a radiation unit 33a, a speaker substrate 33b, and a sensor unit 31. The radiation unit 33a vibrates the diaphragm and outputs sound. The speaker board 33b is an electronic circuit board that inputs an electric signal that vibrates the diaphragm of the radiation unit 33a to the radiation unit 33a. The direction of the speaker 33 specifically refers to the normal direction on the front side of the radiation unit 33a.

The sensor unit 31 is mounted on the speaker board 33b. The sensor unit 31 has a plurality of sensors for measuring the orientation of the speaker 33. The sensor unit 31 is made into an IC, for example, and can be mounted in a narrow space on the speaker substrate 33b.

The rotation control device 100 is housed in the base 34. The rotation control device 100 is, for example, a printed circuit board on which a computer function is mounted. The rotation control device 100 is connected to the host computer 300 via the controller 200. The rotation control device 100 rotates the motors 32a and 32b for changing the direction of the speaker 33 in response to the instruction of the host computer 300. For example, the rotation control device 100 rotates the motors 32a and 32b by the angle notified by the host computer 300.

In the second embodiment, the motors 32a and 32b are stepping motors. In this case, the rotation control device 100 rotates the motors 32a and 32b by outputting the pulse signals for the angles notified from the host computer 300 to the motors 32a and 32b.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the hardware of the rotation control device and the controller. The entire rotation control device 100 is controlled by a microcontroller (microcomputer) 101. The microcomputer 101 has a processor 101a, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 101b, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 101c. The processor 101a reads the firmware (control software) stored in the ROM 101c into the RAM 101b, and controls the rotation of the speaker 33 according to the firmware. The processor 101a is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). At least a part of the functions realized by the processor 101a by executing the program may be realized by an electronic circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or a PLD (Programmable Logic Device).

The RAM 101b is a volatile semiconductor storage device used as the main storage device of the rotation control device 100. At least a part of the program to be executed by the processor 101a is temporarily stored in the RAM 101b. Further, the RAM 101b stores various data used for processing by the processor 101a.

The ROM 101c is a non-volatile semiconductor storage device that stores firmware. As the ROM 101c, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) or EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) can be used.

The device connection interface 102, the motor drivers 103 and 104, and the connection interface 105 are connected to the microcomputer 101.
A sensor unit 31 is connected to the device connection interface 102. The sensor unit 31 includes, for example, an acceleration sensor 31a, a gyro sensor 31b, and a geomagnetic sensor 31c. The acceleration sensor 31a is a sensor that measures acceleration in three axial directions. The gyro sensor 31b is a sensor that measures the rotational speed (angular velocity) in the three axial directions. The gyro sensor 31b is also called an angular velocity sensor. The geomagnetic sensor 31c is a sensor that measures the three-dimensional direction of the geomagnetism (for example, the direction of the S pole). The geomagnetic direction is represented by, for example, a vector having components in the triaxial direction. The device connection interface 102 transmits the values measured by each sensor in the sensor unit 31 to the microcomputer 101.

The motor driver 103 is connected to a motor 32a for rotating the speaker 33 in the horizontal direction. The motor driver 103 receives a pulse signal from the microcomputer 101 and rotates the shaft of the motor 32a.

The motor driver 104 is connected to a motor 32b for rotating the speaker 33 in the direction of gravity. The motor driver 104 receives a pulse signal from the microcomputer 101 and rotates the shaft of the motor 32b.

The connection interface 105 is an interface for connecting to the controller 200. Examples of the standard used by the connection interface 106 include RS-485.
The rotation control device 100 can realize the processing function of the second embodiment by the hardware configuration as described above. The rotation control device 16 shown in the first embodiment can also be realized by the same hardware as the rotation control device 100 shown in FIG. Further, the processor 101a is an example of the processing unit 16b shown in the first embodiment. The RAM 101b or ROM 101c is an example of the storage unit 16a shown in the first embodiment. The sensor unit 31 is an example of a sensor incorporating a plurality of sensors such as the acceleration sensor 14 and the geomagnetic sensor 15 shown in the first embodiment.

The rotation control device 100 realizes the processing function of the second embodiment, for example, by executing a program recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The program describing the processing content to be executed by the rotation control device 100 can be recorded on various recording media. For example, a program to be executed by the processor 101a of the rotation control device 100 can be stored in the ROM 101c as firmware. Further, the program to be executed by the processor 101a can be recorded on a portable recording medium such as an optical disk, a memory device, or a memory card. The program stored in the portable recording medium can be executed after being written to the ROM 101c, for example, under the control of the processor 101a.

The controller 200 has a hub 201 for connecting the host computer 300 and peripheral devices. The hub 201 is connected to the host computer 300 by a standard such as USB (Universal Serial Bus). Peripheral devices connected to the hub 201 include a serial bus 202, a DAC (Digital Analog Converter) 204, and a connection interface 206.

The serial bus 202 is a bus for connecting the hub 201 and the DPOT (Digital POTentiometer) 203. Examples of the standard used by the serial bus 202 include I2C (registered trademark). DPOT203 is a variable resistor whose resistance value changes according to a signal. The current flowing through the AMP (AMPlifier) 205 is controlled by the resistance value of DPOT203.

The DAC 204 converts the digital signal from the host computer 300 into an analog signal and outputs it to the AMP 205. The AMP 205 amplifies the analog signal input from the DAC 204 by an electric current and outputs the analog signal to the speaker 33.

The speaker 33 outputs the sound corresponding to the signal input from the AMP 205. The speaker 33 is, for example, a parametric speaker, and outputs sound by ultrasonic waves.
The connection interface 206 is an interface for connecting to the rotation control device 100. The standard used by the connection interface 206 is the same as that of the connection interface 106.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of hardware of the host computer. The entire device of the host computer 300 is controlled by the processor 301. The memory 302 and a plurality of peripheral devices are connected to the processor 301 via the bus 311. The processor 301 may be a multiprocessor. The processor 301 is, for example, a CPU, MPU, or DSP. At least a part of the functions realized by executing the program by the processor 301 may be realized by an electronic circuit such as an ASIC or PLD.

The memory 302 is used as the main storage device of the host computer 300. At least a part of an OS (Operating System) program or an application program to be executed by the processor 301 is temporarily stored in the memory 302. In addition, various data used for processing by the processor 301 are stored in the memory 302. As the memory 302, a volatile semiconductor storage device such as a RAM is used.

Peripheral devices connected to the bus 311 include a storage device 303, a graphic processing device 304, a device connection interface 305, an input interface 306, an optical drive device 307, a device connection interface 308, a connection interface 309, and a network interface 310.

The storage device 303 electrically or magnetically writes and reads data from the built-in recording medium. The storage device 303 is used as an auxiliary storage device for the computer. The storage device 303 stores an OS program, an application program, and various data. As the storage device 303, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive) can be used.

A monitor 41 is connected to the graphic processing device 304. The graphic processing device 304 causes the image to be displayed on the screen of the monitor 41 in accordance with the instruction from the processor 301. Examples of the monitor 41 include a display device using an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) and a liquid crystal display device.

A camera 42 is connected to the device connection interface 305. The camera 42 generates still image or moving image data of the scene ahead of the lens of the camera 42 in accordance with a command from the processor 301, and stores the data in the memory 302.

A keyboard 43 and a mouse 44 are connected to the input interface 306. The input interface 306 transmits a signal sent from the keyboard 43 and the mouse 44 to the processor 301. The mouse 44 is an example of a pointing device, and other pointing devices can also be used. Other pointing devices include touch panels, tablets, touchpads, trackballs and the like.

The optical drive device 307 reads the data recorded on the optical disk 45 by using a laser beam or the like. The optical disk 45 is a portable recording medium on which data is recorded so that it can be read by reflection of light. The optical disk 45 includes a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a DVD-RAM, a CD (Compact Disc) -ROM, a CD-R (Recordable) / RW (ReWritable), and the like.

The device connection interface 308 is a communication interface for connecting peripheral devices to the host computer 300. For example, a memory device 46 or a memory reader / writer 47 can be connected to the device connection interface 308. The memory device 46 is a recording medium equipped with a communication function with the device connection interface 308. The memory reader / writer 47 is a device that writes data to or reads data from the memory card 48. The memory card 48 is a card-type recording medium.

The connection interface 309 is an interface for connecting to the controller 200. The standard used by the connection interface 309 is the same as the standard used by the hub 201.
The network interface 310 is connected to the network 20. The network interface 310 transmits / receives data to / from another computer or communication device via the network 20.

The host computer 300 can realize the processing function of the second embodiment by the hardware configuration as described above. The host computer 300 realizes the processing function of the second embodiment, for example, by executing a program recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The program that describes the processing content to be executed by the host computer 300 can be recorded on various recording media. For example, a program to be executed by the host computer 300 can be stored in the storage device 303. The processor 301 loads at least a part of the program in the storage device 303 into the memory 302 and executes the program. Further, the program to be executed by the host computer 300 can be recorded on a portable recording medium such as an optical disk 45, a memory device 46, and a memory card 48. The program stored in the portable recording medium can be executed after being installed in the storage device 303, for example, under the control of the processor 301. The processor 301 can also read and execute the program directly from the portable recording medium.

Next, the nature of the speaker 33 will be described.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the position with respect to the speaker and the sound pressure level. Hereinafter, the difference between the non-directional speaker 40 and the parametric speaker 33 will be described. In FIG. 6, the high and low values of the sound pressure level of the voice emitted by the speakers 33 and 40 are represented by the shades of dots, where the dark dots indicate that the sound pressure level is high, and where the dots are thin indicate the sound pressure level. Indicates low.

The sound emitted by the speaker 40 is transmitted in all directions, and is attenuated as the distance increases. Therefore, the sound pressure level is high in the vicinity of the speaker 40, and the sound pressure level decreases as the distance from the speaker 40 increases. In this case, even if the speaker 40 faces the target person 21, if the distance between the speaker 40 and the target person 21 is large, the target person 21 may have difficulty in hearing or cannot hear the sound emitted by the speaker 40.

On the other hand, the sound emitted by the speaker 33 is output by subjecting the original sound to ultrasonic modulation. This voice travels straight due to the characteristics of ultrasonic waves. Here, since the ultrasonic waves do not spread, the amount of sound attenuation due to the long distance is small. Therefore, the sound pressure level is high on the straight line in the direction in which the speaker 33 is facing, and is low in the direction other than the direction in which the speaker 33 is facing. Therefore, when the speaker 33 faces the target person 21, the target person 21 can hear the sound emitted by the speaker 33 even if the distance between the speaker 33 and the target person 21 is large. In this way, the speaker 33 delivers the sound only to a specific person (target person 21).

Here, the orientation of the speaker 33 is determined by the angular displacement of each rotation (two axis rotations) about the two rotation axes. The angular displacements of the two shaft rotations fluctuate with the rotation of the motors 32a and 32b, respectively. The angular displacement caused by the rotation of the motor 32a from the state where the horizontal orientation of the speaker 33 coincides with the origin orientation represents the horizontal angular difference of the speaker 33. The angular displacement caused by the rotation of the motor 32b from the state where the speaker 33 is directed in the direction of gravity represents the angular difference in the direction of gravity of the speaker 33. For example, the host computer 300 outputs a rotation instruction to the motors 32a and 32b, and when the motors 32a and 32b are rotated, the host computer 300 stores the angular displacement (specified angle specified by the rotation instruction) expected to occur in the rotation. Keep it. Then, in the next rotation instruction, the host computer 300 rotates the axes of the motors 32a and 32b so that the angular displacement of the axis rotation fluctuates by the difference between the stored angular displacement and the target angle.

At this time, the amount of rotation instructed by the host computer 300 and the actual amount of rotation of the motors 32a and 32b may deviate due to step-out or the like. Then, there is a difference between the current angular displacement of the rotation in each axial direction stored in the host computer 300 and the angular difference in the direction of gravity or the angular difference in the horizontal direction caused by the actual axial rotation. Then, the direction of the speaker 33 deviates from the target direction by the difference generated in this way. If the direction of the speaker 33 deviates from the target direction, the width of the speaker 33 that can deliver the sound is narrow, so that the sound may not be delivered to the target person 21.

Therefore, in the second embodiment, the rotation control device 100 calibrates the deviation of the direction of the speaker 33. For example, the rotation control device 100 directs the speaker 33 toward the target person 21 according to an instruction from the host computer 300. When the rotation control device 100 confirms that the sound output is completed, the rotation control device 100 returns the direction of the speaker 33 to the origin direction (direction in the initial state). After that, the rotation control device 100 measures the orientation of the speaker 33 after rotation for returning to the origin, and detects a deviation between the orientation of the speaker 33 and the direction of the origin. When there is a deviation, the rotation control device 100 further rotates the direction of the speaker 33 toward the origin direction according to the deviation amount.

The general procedure for correcting the error in the direction of gravity by the rotation control device 100 is as follows.
The rotation control device 100 sets the origin direction downward (direction of gravity). The rotation control device 100 calculates the inclination (deviation from the origin direction) of the speaker 33 based on the measured value of the acceleration sensor 31a when the power is turned on. The rotation control device 100 rotates the motor 32b by an angle at which the inclination becomes “0”. The state in which the inclination is "0" is a state in which the gravitational acceleration acts only on the Z axis.

After that, the rotation control device 100 rotates the motor 32b when it receives the rotation angle (designated angle) from the host computer 300 to the target person 21. The rotation control device 100 calculates the rotation angle with the gyro sensor 31b while rotating the motor 32b. When the rotation control device 100 finishes speaking to the target person 21, the rotation control device 100 rotates the motor 32b so as to return the rotation angle detected by the gyro sensor 31b. When the control for returning the direction of the speaker 33 is completed, the rotation control device 100 detects the inclination of the speaker 33 in the direction of gravity based on the measured value of the acceleration sensor 31a. If the inclination is not "0", the rotation control device 100 regards the inclination as an error and instructs the rotation of the correction movement of the motor 32b until the error becomes "0".

The general procedure for correcting the horizontal error by the rotation control device 100 is as follows.
In the rotation control device 100, the origin direction (origin direction) is the direction measured in advance by the geomagnetic sensor 31c. For example, the rotation control device 100 calculates the rotation angle based on the angular velocity measured by the gyro sensor 31b while slowly rotating the motor 32a in one direction in the horizontal direction when the power is turned on. When the rotation limit is reached and step-out occurs, the rotation control device 100 rotates the motor 32a in the opposite direction by "90 °". The rotation control device 100 detects the horizontal orientation (direction) of the speaker 33 after rotating by "90 °" with the geomagnetic sensor 31c. Then, the rotation control device 100 sets the detected direction as the origin direction in the horizontal direction.

After that, the rotation control device 100 rotates the motor 32a when it receives the rotation angle (designated angle) from the host computer 300 to the target person 21. The rotation control device 100 calculates the rotation angle with the gyro sensor 31b while rotating the motor 32a. When the rotation control device 100 finishes speaking to the target person 21, the rotation control device 100 rotates the motor 32a so as to return the rotation angle detected by the gyro sensor 31b. When the control for returning the direction of the speaker 33 is completed, the rotation control device 100 detects the horizontal direction (direction) of the speaker 33 based on the measured value of the geomagnetic sensor 31c. If the deviation between the detected orientation and the origin orientation is not "0", the rotation control device 100 regards the deviation as an error and instructs the rotation of the correction movement of the motor 32a until the deviation becomes "0".

As described above, in the speaker device 30, the measured value of each sensor in the sensor unit 31 is used to detect the direction of the speaker 33. Here, the advantage of detecting the orientation of the speaker 33 using the measured value of the sensor will be described.

In general, the stepping motor itself does not know the rotation angle, and even if the rotation angle shifts due to step-out, it cannot be detected. Therefore, it is conceivable to implement a rotation angle detection mechanism separately from the stepping motor. Encoders, photo interrupters, mechanical switches, etc. can be considered as those that can be used for position detection, but the mounting of these parts has large structural design restrictions. For example, encoders are large in size and require sufficient installation space. In addition, the number of photo interrupters is increased because each motor is provided, and there are restrictions on the installation position. Since mechanical switches are also provided for each motor, the number of mechanical switches increases and a mechanical load is applied to the motors.

On the other hand, various sensors such as the acceleration sensor 31a, the gyro sensor 31b, and the geomagnetic sensor 31c can be housed in one IC and are very small in size. Therefore, the installation space is small. Moreover, since the installation position is not limited to the vicinity of the motor, restrictions on the structural design are minimized. Furthermore, it does not increase the extra load on the motor.

As described above, the sensor has an advantage that there are few mounting restrictions. Moreover, sensors such as the acceleration sensor 31a are used in various fields and can be obtained at low cost. Therefore, by enabling the orientation of the speaker 33 to be detected using the measured value of the sensor, it becomes easy to implement the orientation detection mechanism of the speaker 33 on the speaker device 30.

Next, the function of the rotation control device 100 for detecting the orientation of the speaker 33 and calibrating the detected orientation deviation will be described.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the function of the rotation control device. The rotation control device 100 includes a storage unit 110, a rotation instruction unit 120, and an angle calculation unit 130.

The storage unit 110 stores the origin direction information indicating the direction that becomes the origin in the horizontal direction. The direction serving as the origin in the horizontal direction is set in the storage unit 110 when the speaker device 30 is installed. The storage unit 110 is realized by, for example, the ROM 101c of the rotation control device 100.

The rotation instruction unit 120 instructs the motors 32a and 32b to rotate according to the instruction from the host computer 300. For example, the rotation instruction unit 120 outputs a number of pulse signals corresponding to the rotation angle to the motors 32a and 32b. Further, the rotation instruction unit 120 determines whether or not there is a deviation from the origin direction based on the angle calculated by the angle calculation unit 130, and if there is a deviation, the rotation instruction according to the deviation amount is given to the motors 32a and 32b. Output.

The angle calculation unit 130 calculates the angle in the direction of gravity or the horizontal direction of the speaker 33 based on the measured values of each sensor in the sensor unit 31. The angle calculation unit 130 can also calculate the angle (deviation amount) formed by the calculated angle and the origin direction. For example, the angle calculation unit 130 calculates the amount of deviation in the direction of gravity or the horizontal direction after the origin return control. The direction of gravity The origin direction of rotation is, for example, the direction of gravity. Further, the origin direction of the horizontal rotation is the direction indicated by the origin direction information set in the storage unit 110.

The line connecting each element shown in FIG. 7 indicates a part of the communication path, and a communication path other than the illustrated communication path can be set. Further, the function of each element shown in FIG. 7 can be realized, for example, by causing a computer to execute a program module corresponding to the element.

Next, the angle calculation method by the angle calculation unit 130 will be described in detail.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the rotation axis of the acceleration sensor when rotating in the direction of gravity. The acceleration sensor 31a measures acceleration in a local three-dimensional coordinate system. The local coordinate system of the acceleration sensor 31a rotates with respect to the global coordinate system as the speaker 33 rotates. Here, the global coordinate system is a coordinate system whose Z axis is the direction of gravity.

When the speaker 33 faces the origin direction (direction of gravity) in the rotation in the direction of gravity, the X-axis and the Y-axis of the acceleration sensor 31a are horizontal and the Z-axis is vertical. In the example of FIG. 8, the Z-axis of the acceleration sensor 31a has a positive direction opposite to gravity. That is, when the speaker 33 is directed to the home direction of the rotation of the direction of gravity, the value of Z axis that is measured by the acceleration sensor 31a (the acceleration in the Z-axis component A _z) is a gravitational acceleration "9.80665" ..

Here, it is assumed that the vertical rotation axis 37b (see FIG. 3) and the Y axis of the acceleration sensor 31a are parallel. In that case, the rotation of the speaker 33 in the direction of gravity is the rotation of the acceleration sensor 31a about the Y axis. At this time, the angle difference θ _y in the direction of gravity of the speaker 33 can be calculated based on the X-axis component A _x and the Z-axis component A _{z of the} acceleration.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a method of calculating an angle difference in the direction of gravity using the measured value of the acceleration sensor. In FIG. 9, the gravitational acceleration is approximated to "9.8". Further, the difference between the X-axis in the local coordinate system of the acceleration sensor 31a and the X-axis in the global coordinate system is θ _x .

In this case, the "cos [theta] _x = A _x /9.8',`Sinshita <sub>x</sub> = A <sub>z</sub> /9.8',`Tanshita _x = A _z / A _x". By using the inverse function of "cos θ _x = A _{x /} 9.8", θ _x can be calculated only from the X-axis component A _{x of} acceleration. By using the inverse function of "sin θ _x = A _{z /} 9.8", θ _x can be calculated only from the Z-axis component A _{z of} acceleration. However, if the calculation uses only the uniaxial component, the error based on the resolution of the acceleration sensor 31a becomes large. Therefore the angle calculation unit 130, using the inverse function of "tanθ _x = A _z / A _x", calculates the theta _x from the X-axis component of the acceleration A _x and Z-axis component A _z. Specifically, it can be calculated by the following formula (1).
θ _x = tan ^-1 (A _z / A _x ) (1)
Based on θ _x , the angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity can be expressed as “θ _y = 90− | θ _x |”. Replacing θ _x in this equation with the right side of equation (1), the angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity is expressed by equation (2) below.
θ _y = 90- | tan ^-1 (A _z / A _x ) | (2)
The angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity can also be calculated from the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a method of calculating the angle difference in the direction of gravity using the measured value of the gyro sensor. The gyro sensor 31b measures the angular velocity ω in a local three-dimensional coordinate system. The local coordinate system of the gyro sensor 31b rotates with respect to the global coordinate system as the speaker 33 rotates. When the speaker 33 faces the origin direction (direction of gravity) in the rotation in the direction of gravity, the X-axis and the Y-axis of the gyro sensor 31b are horizontal, and the Z-axis is vertical.

Here, it is assumed that the vertical rotation axis 37b (see FIG. 3) and the Y axis of the gyro sensor 31b are parallel. In that case, the rotation of the speaker 33 in the direction of gravity is the rotation of the gyro sensor 31b about the Y axis. By using the gyro sensor 31b, the rotation angle G _y of the rotation about the Y axis can be calculated. If the rotation angle G _y from the origin direction is obtained, the rotation angle G _y becomes equal to the angle difference θ _y in the direction of gravity from the origin direction. That is, in the gyro sensor 31b, the angle difference θ _y in the direction of gravity from the state facing the origin direction in the rotation in the direction of gravity can be calculated by the following equation (3).
θ _y = G _y = Σω _y t (3)
In equation (3), ω _y is the angular velocity of rotation about the Y axis, and t is the time interval at which the angular velocity is measured. For example, from the state where the speaker 33 faces the origin direction in the rotation in the direction of gravity, it rotates for time t ₁ at the angular velocity of ω ₁ , rotates for time t ₂ at the angular velocity of ω ₂ , and time t _{3 at} the angular velocity of ω _3. It is assumed that it is rotated by the angular velocity of ω ₄ for the time t ₄ . In this case, the angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity is “θ _y = ω ₁ t ₁ + ω ₂ t ₂ + ω ₃ t ₃ + ω ₄ t ₄ ”.

In this way, the angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity can be calculated from the measured values of the acceleration sensor 31a or the gyro sensor 31b. The angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity using the measured value of the acceleration sensor 31a can be calculated with high accuracy only from the current state of acceleration. On the other hand, the calculation of the angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity using the measured value of the acceleration sensor 31a is affected by the rotational motion while the speaker 33 is rotating, and accurate calculation becomes difficult. On the other hand, the calculation of the angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity using the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b does not reduce the calculation accuracy even while the speaker 33 is rotating.

Therefore, if the measurement can be performed with the rotation in the direction of gravity stopped, it is appropriate to calculate the angle difference θ _y in the direction of gravity using the measured value of the acceleration sensor 31a. Further, if the angle difference θ _y in the direction of gravity is obtained while rotating the speaker 33, it is appropriate to calculate the angle difference θ _y in the direction of gravity using the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a calculation example of an error in the angle difference in the direction of gravity when returning to the origin. When the speaker 33 faces the origin in the direction of gravity, the X-axis component of the acceleration measured by the acceleration sensor 31a is "0.0", the Y-axis component is "0.0", and the Z-axis component is "-". 9.8 ”. Further, all the angular differences generated by the rotation around each axis calculated based on the angular velocity measured by the gyro sensor 31b are "0.0".

In this state, it is assumed that an instruction to rotate "40 °" in the direction of gravity is input from the host computer 300. Then, the rotation instruction unit 120 instructs the motor 32b to rotate by "40 °".

When the speaker 33 rotates "40 °" in the direction of gravity, the X-axis component of the acceleration measured by the acceleration sensor 31a is "7.507", the Y-axis component is "0.0", and the Z-axis component is "-6". .299 ". Further, the angle difference generated by the rotation about the Y axis calculated based on the angular velocity measured by the gyro sensor 31b is "40.0".

When the rotation of the designated angle is completed, the rotation instruction unit 120 notifies the host computer 300 of the end of rotation. Then, the host computer 300 transmits a voice signal to the speaker device 30, and causes the speaker 33 to output a voice to the target person 21 (calls out). When the call is completed, the host computer 300 rotates in the opposite direction to the rotation control device 100 by the movement angle (angle difference "40.0") calculated based on the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b. Instruct. That is, the host computer 300 instructs the rotation of "-40 °". Then, the rotation instruction unit 120 of the rotation control device 100 instructs the motor 32b to rotate by "-40 °".

At this time, it is assumed that step-out occurs in the motor 32b and the rotation angle of the speaker 33 does not reach "-40 °". Therefore, the direction of the speaker 33 is deviated from the origin direction even after the origin return process is performed.

In the example of FIG. 11, the X-axis component of the acceleration measured by the acceleration sensor 31a is "0.854", the Y-axis component is "0.0", and the Z-axis component is "-9.762". At this time, the angle calculation unit 130 calculates the error. That is, the angle calculation unit 130 calculates the angle difference θ _y in the current direction of gravity based on the equation (2). Then, “angle difference θ _y = 5 °”. This angle is the error of the angle difference.

Next, a method of calculating the angle difference in the horizontal direction will be described. The origin direction (origin direction) in the horizontal rotation is, for example, the front direction of the speaker device 30.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the origin direction in the horizontal rotation. FIG. 12 is a bottom view of the speaker device 30. That is, FIG. 12 shows a state when the speaker device 30 mounted on the ceiling is looked up from below. It is assumed that the speaker 33 faces in the horizontal direction.

Here, it is assumed that the speaker 33 can rotate "180 °" in the horizontal direction. In this case, the direction of the front surface (front of the radiation surface) when the speaker 33 is facing the middle direction of the rotatable range of the speaker 33 is set as the origin direction. The origin direction information indicating the origin direction is acquired from the geomagnetic sensor 31c by the angle calculation unit 130 at the time of initialization processing at the time of turning on the power, and is stored in the storage unit 110.

The horizontal angle difference of the speaker 33 can be calculated based on the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a method of calculating the angle difference in the horizontal direction using the measured value of the gyro sensor. When the speaker 33 faces the origin direction (direction of gravity) in the rotation in the direction of gravity, the X-axis and the Y-axis of the gyro sensor 31b are horizontal, and the Z-axis is vertical.

Here, it is assumed that the horizontal rotation axis 37a (see FIG. 3) and the Z axis of the gyro sensor 31b are parallel. In that case, the horizontal rotation of the speaker 33 is the rotation of the gyro sensor 31b about the Z axis. With the gyro sensor 31b can calculate the rotation angle G _z of rotation about the Z axis. If the rotation angle G _z from the origin direction is obtained, the rotation angle G _z becomes equal to the angle difference θ _z in the horizontal direction. That is, in the gyro sensor 31b, the horizontal angle difference θ _z from the state facing the origin direction in the rotation in the direction of gravity can be calculated by the following equation (4).
θ _z = G _z = Σω _z t (4)
In equation (4), ω _z is the angular velocity of rotation about the Z axis, and t is the time interval at which the angular velocity is measured. For example, from the state where the speaker 33 faces the origin direction in the rotation in the direction of gravity, it rotates for time t ₁ at the angular velocity of ω ₁ , rotates for time t ₂ at the angular velocity of ω ₂ , and time t _{3 at} the angular velocity of ω _3. It is assumed that it is rotated by the angular velocity of ω ₄ for the time t ₄ . In this case, the horizontal angle difference θ _z is “θ _z = ω ₁ t ₁ + ω ₂ t ₂ + ω ₃ t ₃ + ω ₄ t ₄ ”.

By using the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b, the actual rotation angle of each rotation of the speaker 33 can be known. The presence or absence of step-out can be determined by obtaining the error between the specified rotation angle of the speaker 33 and the actual rotation angle.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a calculation example of an error of an angle difference in the horizontal direction. In the example of FIG. 14, it is assumed that a rotation instruction with "90 °" as a designated angle from the origin direction is input from the host computer 300. In this case, the rotation instruction unit 120 outputs a pulse signal for "90 °" to the motor 32a. The motor 32a rotates in response to the pulse signal. The angle calculation unit 130 acquires the angular velocity measured by the gyro sensor 31b and calculates the angle of rotation. In the example of FIG. 14, the rotation angle is "80 °". In this case, the difference between the designated angle "90 °" and the rotation angle "80 °" is an error due to step-out.

If the amount of error due to step-out is known, the rotation indicator 120 can correct the error by further rotating the speaker 33 by the amount of the error. It is also possible to judge that the limit of the movable range has been reached by the presence or absence of step-out.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 15 to 18, the procedure of speaking to the target person 21 using the speaker 33 will be described in detail.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart (1/2) showing an example of the procedure of the speaker device initialization process when the power is turned on. Hereinafter, the process shown in FIG. 15 will be described along with the step numbers.

[Step S101] When the power ON operation is performed, the speaker device 30 supplies power to the rotation control device 100 and the speaker 33. Then, the rotation control device 100 starts the initialization process.

[Step S102] The angle calculation unit 130 of the rotation control device 100 acquires the measured value of the acceleration sensor 31a. Then, the angle calculation unit 130 calculates the angle difference θ _y (inclination) in the direction of gravity according to the above equation (2) based on the X-axis component “A _x ” and the Z-axis component “A _z ” of the acceleration. .. The angle calculation unit 130 notifies the rotation instruction unit 120 of the calculated angle difference θ _y in the direction of gravity.

[Step S103] The rotation instruction unit 120 controls the rotation of the speaker 33 in the direction of gravity toward the origin based on the angle difference θ _y in the direction of gravity calculated in step S102. For example, it is assumed that the angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity calculated by the angle calculation unit 130 is “55 °”. In this case, the rotation indicator 120 controls the motor 32b to rotate by "-55 °". That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 sets the rotation direction to a negative direction and outputs a pulse signal for "55 °" to the motor 32b.

[Step S104] The angle calculation unit 130 acquires the measured value of the acceleration sensor 31a when the output of the pulse signal to the motor 32b by the rotation instruction unit 120 is completed. Then, the angle calculation unit 130 calculates the angle difference θ _y (inclination) in the direction of gravity according to the above equation (2) based on the X-axis component “A _x ” and the Z-axis component “A _z ” of the acceleration. .. The angle calculation unit 130 notifies the rotation instruction unit 120 of the calculated angle difference θ _y in the direction of gravity.

[Step S105] The rotation instruction unit 120 determines whether or not the angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity is “0 °”. The rotation indicating unit 120 may have a certain allowable range in determining whether or not the angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity is “0 °”. For example, the rotation indicator 120 determines that the angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity is “0 °” if the angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity is within the permissible range from “0 °”. If the angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity is “0 °”, the rotation indicator 120 proceeds to step S111 (see FIG. 16). If the angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity is not “0 °”, the rotation indicator 120 proceeds to step S106.

[Step S106] The rotation instruction unit 120 controls the rotation of the speaker 33 in the direction of gravity based on the angle difference θ _y in the direction of gravity calculated in step S104. For example, the rotation indicator 120 outputs a number of pulse signals corresponding to the angle difference θ _y in the direction of gravity to the motor 32b. The rotation indicator 120 then proceeds to step S104.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart (2/2) showing an example of the procedure of the speaker device initialization process when the power is turned on. Hereinafter, the process shown in FIG. 16 will be described along with the step numbers.
[Step S111] The rotation indicator 120 initializes the stored values (G _x , G _y , G _z ) of the rotation angle obtained by the calculation based on the measured values of the gyro sensor 31b to (0, 0, 0).

[Step S112] The rotation instruction unit 120 controls the constant velocity rotation of the speaker 33 at a predetermined angle in the horizontal direction. For example, it is assumed that the reference rotation angle ZH in the horizontal direction during the initialization process is set to "10 °". In this case, the rotation indicator 120 controls the motor 32a to rotate by "10 °". That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 outputs a pulse signal for "10 °" to the motor 32a.

[Step S113] The angle calculation unit 130 acquires the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b when the output of the pulse signal to the motor 32a by the rotation instruction unit 120 is completed. Then, the angle calculation unit 130 calculates the rotation angle G _z according to the equation (4) based on the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b. The angle calculation unit 130 notifies the rotation instruction unit 120 of the calculated rotation angle G _z .

[Step S114] The rotation indicating unit 120 determines whether or not the rotation angle G _z is equal to the reference rotation angle ZH “10 °”. The rotation indicating unit 120 may have a certain allowable range in determining whether or not the rotation angle G _z is equal to the reference rotation angle ZH “10 °”. For example, the rotation indicating unit 120 determines that the rotation angle G _z is “10 °” if the rotation angle G _z is within the allowable error range from “10 °”. If the rotation angle G _z is "10 °", the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S112. If the rotation angle G _z is not “10 °”, the rotation indicating unit 120 advances the process to step S115.

In this way, the horizontal rotation of the speaker 33 by "10 °" is repeated until the rotation angle G _z and the reference rotation angle ZH do not match due to step-out. The horizontal movable range of the speaker 33 is limited (for example, “180 °”), and when the speaker 33 is rotated to the end of the movable range, the speaker 33 cannot rotate any more and step-out occurs. In this case, the actual rotation angle G _z does not meet the reference rotation angle ZH specified by the rotation control. Therefore, the rotation indicating unit 120 recognizes that the direction of the speaker 33 has rotated to one end of the movable range in the horizontal direction by confirming that the rotation angle G _z does not become the reference rotation angle ZH. When the direction of the speaker 33 rotates to one end of the movable range in the horizontal direction, the rotation instruction unit 120 executes the processes after step S115.

The rotation instruction unit 120 is rotated little by little (for example, by "10 °") in step S114 to reduce the load on the motor 32a. That is, if the pulse signal is continuously transmitted to the motor 32a even after the direction of the speaker 33 reaches the end of the movable range in the horizontal direction, an extra load is continuously applied to the motor 32a. Therefore, the rotation indicating unit 120 rotates by the reference rotation angle ZH and confirms the presence or absence of step-out each time the rotation is performed, thereby minimizing the extra load applied to the motor 32a.

[Step S115] The rotation instruction unit 120 controls the constant velocity rotation of the speaker 33 at a predetermined angle in the horizontal direction (for example, half the angle of the movable range of rotation in the horizontal direction). For example, it is assumed that the movable range of rotation in the horizontal direction is "180 °", and the speaker 33 is rotated to the end in the positive rotation direction by the processing of steps S112 to S114. In this case, the rotation indicator 120 controls the motor 32a to rotate by "−90 °". That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 sets the rotation direction to a negative direction and outputs a pulse signal for "90 °" to the motor 32a.

[Step S116] The angle calculation unit 130 acquires the measured value of the geomagnetic sensor 31c when the output of the pulse signal to the motor 32a by the rotation instruction unit 120 is completed. Then, the angle calculation unit 130 determines the origin direction M0 based on the measured value of the geomagnetic sensor 31c. That is, the angle calculation unit 130 sets the current horizontal direction of the speaker 33 as the origin direction M0. The angle calculation unit 130 stores the acquired measured value of the geomagnetic sensor 31c in the storage unit 110 as origin orientation information.

[Step S117] The rotation indicator 120 initializes the stored values (G _x , G _y , G _z ) of the rotation angle obtained by the calculation based on the measured values of the gyro sensor 31b to (0, 0, 0).
In this way, the initialization process is performed when the power is turned on to the speaker device 30, and the speaker 33 has the origin direction of gravity rotation (directly below the vertical) and the origin direction of horizontal rotation (front of the speaker device 30). It will be in a state facing. Further, the origin direction information is stored in the storage unit 110.

After that, when the host computer 300 detects a suspicious person, that person is set as the target person 21. Then, the host computer 300 identifies the position of the target person 21 and instructs the speaker device 30 to rotate the speaker 33 toward that position. The rotation control device 100 of the speaker device 30 performs rotation control for calling and home return processing.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart (1/2) showing an example of the procedure of rotation control for calling and origin return processing. Hereinafter, the process shown in FIG. 17 will be described along with the step numbers.
[Step S201] The rotation instruction unit 120 of the rotation control device 100 acquires a rotation instruction from the host computer 300. For example, it is assumed that a rotation instruction of "-60 ° (H = -60 °)" in the horizontal direction and "40 ° (V = 40 °)" in the direction of gravity is obtained from the host computer 300.

[Step S202] The rotation indicator 120 controls rotation at a designated angle in the horizontal direction. For example, when the rotation instruction of "-60 ° (H = -60 °)" is acquired in the horizontal direction, the rotation instruction unit 120 controls the motor 32a to rotate by "-60 °". That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 sets the rotation direction to a negative direction, and outputs a pulse signal for "60 °" to the motor 32a.

[Step S203] The angle calculation unit 130 acquires the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b when the output of the pulse signal to the motor 32a by the rotation instruction unit 120 is completed. Then, the angle calculation unit 130 calculates the rotation angle G _z according to the equation (4) based on the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b. If step-out has not occurred, the angle of rotation G _z is "-60 °". The angle calculation unit 130 notifies the rotation instruction unit 120 of the calculated rotation angle G _z .

[Step S204] The rotation instruction unit 120 controls rotation at a designated angle in the direction of gravity. For example, when a rotation instruction of "40 ° (V = 40)" is obtained from the host computer 300 in the direction of gravity, the rotation instruction unit 120 controls the motor 32b to rotate by "40 °". That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 sets the rotation direction to the positive direction, and outputs a pulse signal for "40 °" to the motor 32b.

[Step S205] The angle calculation unit 130 acquires the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b when the output of the pulse signal to the motor 32b by the rotation instruction unit 120 is completed. Then, the angle calculation unit 130 calculates the rotation angle G _y according to the equation (3) based on the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b. If step-out has not occurred, the rotation angle G _y is “40 °”. The angle calculation unit 130 notifies the rotation instruction unit 120 of the calculated rotation angle G _y .

[Step S206] The rotation instruction unit 120 notifies the host computer 300 of the completion of rotation. Then, the host computer 300 uses the speaker 33 to output voice (call out) to the target person 21. Meanwhile, the rotation instruction unit 120 waits for the host computer 300 to complete the call. When the call is completed, the host computer 300 transmits an home return instruction to the speaker device 30. When the rotation instruction unit 120 receives the origin return instruction, it recognizes that the call has been completed, and proceeds to the process in step S211 (see FIG. 18).

FIG. 18 is a flowchart (2/2) showing an example of the procedure of rotation control for calling and origin return processing. Hereinafter, the process shown in FIG. 18 will be described along with the step numbers.
[Step S211] The rotation instruction unit 120 acquires an origin return instruction from the host computer 300. For example, the rotation instruction unit 120 acquires a rotation instruction of “−G _z ” in the horizontal direction and “−G _y ” in the direction of gravity as an origin return instruction from the host computer 300. This origin return instruction is a rotation instruction in the opposite direction by the amount of the rotation angle calculated based on the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b.

[Step S212] The rotation instruction unit 120 controls the rotation of a designated angle "-G _y " in the direction of gravity. For example, when the rotation angle G _y is "40 °", the rotation indicator 120 controls the motor 32b to rotate by "-40 °". That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 sets the rotation direction to a negative direction and outputs a pulse signal for "40 °" to the motor 32b.

[Step S213] The angle calculation unit 130 acquires the measured value of the acceleration sensor 31a. Then, the angle calculation unit 130 calculates the angle difference θ _y (inclination) in the direction of gravity according to the above equation (2) based on the X-axis component “A _x ” and the Z-axis component “A _z ” of the acceleration. .. The angle calculation unit 130 notifies the rotation instruction unit 120 of the calculated angle difference θ _y in the direction of gravity.

[Step S214] The rotation instruction unit 120 determines whether or not the angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity is “0 °”. The rotation indicating unit 120 may have a certain allowable range in determining whether or not the angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity is “0 °”. If the angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity is “0 °”, the rotation indicator 120 advances the process to step S216. The rotation indicator 120 proceeds to step S215 if the angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity is not “0 °”.

[Step S215] The rotation instruction unit 120 controls the rotation of the rotation angle in the direction of gravity according to the difference between the angle difference θ _{y in} the current direction of gravity and the origin direction “θ _y = 0”. For example, if “angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity = 5 °”, the rotation indicator 120 controls the motor 32b to rotate by “−5 °”. That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 sets the rotation direction to a negative direction and outputs a pulse signal for "5 °" to the motor 32b. After that, the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S213.

[Step S216] The rotation instruction unit 120 controls the rotation of the designated angle “−G _z ” in the horizontal direction. For example, when the rotation angle G _z is “-60 °”, the rotation instruction unit 120 controls the motor 32a to rotate by “60 °”. That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 sets the rotation direction to the positive direction and outputs a pulse signal for "60 °" to the motor 32a.

[Step S217] The angle calculation unit 130 detects the horizontal angle difference θ _z of the speaker 33 based on the measured value of the geomagnetic sensor 31c. For example, the angle calculation unit 130 acquires the measured value of the geomagnetic sensor 31c. Then, the angle calculation unit 130 notifies the rotation instruction unit 120 of the horizontal angle difference θ _z of the speaker 33 according to the acquired measured value.

[Step S218] The rotation indicating unit 120 may have a certain allowable range in determining whether or not the horizontal angle difference θ _z of the speaker 33 is “0 °”. When the horizontal angle difference θ _z of the speaker 33 is “0 °”, the rotation indicating unit 120 ends the rotation control for calling and the origin return processing. If the horizontal angle difference θ _z of the speaker 33 is not “0 °”, the rotation indicating unit 120 advances the process to step S219.

[Step S219] The rotation instruction unit 120 controls the rotation of the current speaker 33 in the horizontal direction according to the angle difference in the horizontal direction. For example, the speaker orientation M and the origin orientation M0 when the speaker 33 is oriented horizontally can be represented by a vector having values in the three-axis directions of the geomagnetic sensor as components. In this case, the rotation indicating unit 120 sets the angle formed by the vector of the speaker orientation M and the vector of M0 when the speaker 33 is oriented horizontally as the horizontal angle difference θ _z of the speaker 33. If the angle formed between the calculated vectors is "5 °", the rotation indicator 120 controls the motor 32a to rotate by "-5 °". That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 sets the rotation direction to a negative direction and outputs a pulse signal for "5 °" to the motor 32a. After that, the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S217.

In this way, the orientation of the speaker 33 returns to the origin after the voice call process. When returning to the origin, the rotation control device 100 makes the direction of the speaker 33 coincide with the origin direction (direction of gravity) based on the measured value of the acceleration sensor 31a. Further, when returning to the origin, the rotation control device 100 makes the horizontal direction match the origin direction (front of the speaker device 30) based on the measured value of the geomagnetic sensor 31c. As a result, even if step-out occurs during rotation, the orientation of the speaker 33 can be corrected to the correct orientation.

Further, by performing the origin return processing each time the voice is called, the deviation of the direction of the speaker 33 due to the step-out does not accumulate, and the target person 21 can be accurately called in the next voice.
[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, not only the error in the orientation of the speaker 33 is corrected when returning to the origin, but also the error in the orientation of the speaker 33 is corrected when the speaker 33 is directed toward the target person 21 (before speaking). Is to correct. Hereinafter, the differences between the third embodiment and the second embodiment will be described.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a method of correcting the orientation of the speaker before speaking. In the example of FIG. 19, when the direction of the speaker 33 is directed to the target person 21, the rotation control device 100 divides the rotation angle into three sections: an acceleration section, a constant velocity section, and a deceleration section. The acceleration section is a section in which the rotational speed (angular velocity) is gradually increased. The constant velocity section is a section in which the rotation speed is kept constant. The deceleration section is a section in which the rotation speed is gradually reduced. Such motor control is called trapezoidal control because when a graph with time on the horizontal axis and rotation speed on the vertical axis is generated, a trapezoidal graph as shown in FIG. 19 is obtained.

In the example of FIG. 19, the acceleration section is designated in advance at an angle 100 times the rotation angle of one pulse in the motors 32a and 32b. When the motors 32a and 32b rotate by "0.1 °" for each input of one pulse signal, the angle of the acceleration section becomes "10 °". The rotation angles of the motors 32a and 32b per pulse signal of one pulse are also called step angles and are eigenvalues of the motors 32a and 32b. The rotation instruction unit 120 repeats the output step of the pulse signal of one pulse for 100 steps in the acceleration section. At that time, the rotation instruction unit 120 gradually shortens the output interval of the pulse signal.

The deceleration section is also specified in advance at an angle 100 times the rotation angle of one pulse in the motors 32a and 32b. When the motors 32a and 32b rotate by "0.1 °" for each input of one pulse signal, the angle of the deceleration section becomes "10 °". If step-out does not occur in the constant velocity section, the rotation instruction unit 120 repeats the output step of the pulse signal of one pulse for 100 steps in the deceleration section. At that time, the rotation instruction unit 120 gradually increases the output interval of the pulse signal.

The constant velocity section is the remaining angle obtained by subtracting the angle of the acceleration section and the angle of the deceleration section from the specified angle. In the example of FIG. 19, since the rotation angle instructed by the host computer 300 is "60 °", the constant velocity section is "40 °". In this case, the rotation instruction unit 120 repeats the output step of the pulse signal of one pulse for 400 steps in the constant velocity section unless step-out occurs in the acceleration section. At that time, the rotation indicator 120 keeps the output interval of the pulse signal constant.

The number of steps of pulse signal output in the constant velocity section when step-out does not occur is calculated by the following equation.
Number of steps = (specified angle / step angle)-(number of steps in acceleration section x 2)
By dividing the rotation angle into three sections in this way, the speaker 33 can be smoothly rotated.

Then, the rotation control device 100 corrects the error of the rotation angle at the end of each section. That is, the rotation control device 100 corrects the error of the rotation angle when shifting from the acceleration section to the constant velocity section, corrects the error of the rotation angle when shifting from the constant velocity section to the deceleration section, and stops after the deceleration section. Sometimes, the error of the rotation angle is corrected.

The actual angle of rotation in each of the acceleration section, the constant velocity section, and the deceleration section can be calculated with high accuracy by calculating using the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b. The rotation control device 100 calculates an error between the rotation angle of each section calculated using the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b and the rotation angle of the angle section determined according to the designated angle specified by the rotation instruction. , Correct the error.

After stopping, the rotation control device 100 calculates the angle difference θ _y in the direction of gravity using the measured value of the acceleration sensor 31a. Then, the rotation control device 100 calculates an error between the calculated angle difference θ _{y in} the direction of gravity and the designated angle, and corrects the error.

In the example of FIG. 19, at the end of the acceleration section, the rotation angle G _y calculated using the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b is “8 °”. Then, the original rotation angle "10 °" in the acceleration section is "2 °" short. In this case, the rotation control device 100 corrects the number of output steps of the pulse signal in the constant velocity section by increasing the number of rotations by "2 °". In the example of FIG. 19, since the step angle is “0.1 °”, 20 steps are added to the constant velocity section. As a result, the rotation control device 100 outputs a pulse signal of 420 steps in the constant velocity section.

In the example of FIG. 19, at the end of the constant velocity section, the rotation angle G _y calculated using the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b is “50 °”. In this case, since there is no error, no correction is performed. Therefore, the rotation control device 100 outputs a pulse signal of 100 steps in the deceleration section.

It is assumed that the measured value of the acceleration sensor 31a at the end of the deceleration section is "A _x = 8.027, A _z = -5.62". In this case, the angle difference θ _y in the direction of gravity is calculated according to Eq. (2) to be “55 °”. Then, there is an error of "5 °" with respect to the specified angle "60 °". In this case, the rotation control device 100 further performs rotation control (output of a pulse signal in 50 steps) for "5 °".

By making corrections at the end of the section, it is possible to reduce the error at the end of the deceleration section. For example, the rotation control device 100 does not perform correction when the error at the end of the deceleration section is "3 °" or less in the rotation control when the speaker 33 is directed to the target person 21. As a result, it is possible to suppress the correction that the speaker 33 is rotated in small steps again after the rotation of the speaker 33 is stopped. When returning to the origin, the rotation control device 100 corrects the direction of the speaker 33 with higher accuracy (for example, an error of “1 °” or less) after stopping.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for controlling the orientation of the speaker before speaking. Of the processes shown in FIG. 20, the processes of steps S301 and S306 are the same as the processes of steps S201 and S206 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 17, respectively. Further, after the end of step S306, the processes of steps S211 to S219 shown in FIG. 18 are executed as in the second embodiment. Hereinafter, processing different from that of the second embodiment will be described step by step.

[Step S302] The rotation instruction unit 120 controls the rotation in the horizontal direction by the angle "10 °" of the acceleration section. For example, if the designated angle is "-60 °", the rotation indicator 120 controls the motor 32a to rotate by "-10 °". That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 sets the rotation direction to a negative direction, and outputs a pulse signal (100 steps) for "10 °" to the motor 32a.

[Step S303] The rotation instruction unit 120 and the angle calculation unit 130 in the rotation control device 100 cooperate with each other to perform horizontal rotation processing accompanied by correction during rotation. Details of the horizontal rotation process will be described later (see FIG. 21).

[Step S304] The rotation instruction unit 120 controls the rotation in the direction of gravity for the angle "10 °" of the acceleration section. For example, if the designated angle is "60 °", the rotation indicator 120 controls the motor 32b to rotate by "10 °". That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 sets the rotation direction to the positive direction and outputs a pulse signal for "10 °" to the motor 32b.

[Step S305] The rotation instruction unit 120 and the angle calculation unit 130 in the rotation control device 100 cooperate with each other to perform a gravitational direction rotation process accompanied by a correction during rotation. The details of the gravitational directional rotation process will be described later (see FIG. 22).

Next, the horizontal rotation process will be described in detail.
FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of horizontal rotation processing accompanied by correction during rotation. Hereinafter, the process shown in FIG. 21 will be described along with the step numbers.

[Step S401] The angle calculation unit 130 calculates the angle of rotation G _z based on the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b. If the pulse signal is output in 100 steps in step S302 (see FIG. 20) and step-out has not occurred, the rotation angle G _z is “-10 °”.

[Step S402] The rotation instruction unit 120 determines whether or not the absolute value of the rotation angle G _z is equal to "step angle x number of steps in the acceleration section (100)". The rotation indicating unit 120 may have a certain allowable range in determining whether or not the absolute value of the rotation angle G _z is equal to "step angle x number of steps in the acceleration section (100)". When the absolute value of the rotation angle G _z is equal to "step angle x number of steps in the acceleration section (100)", the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S403. Further, when the absolute value of the rotation angle G _z is not equal to "step angle x number of steps (100) in the acceleration section", the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S404.

[Step S403] Since there is no discrepancy between the current rotation angle and the angle of the acceleration section, the rotation instruction unit 120 performs horizontal constant speed rotation control in the constant speed section without correcting the rotation angle. That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 executes the pulse signal output step to the motor 32a as many times as the number of times corresponding to "designated angle / step angle-number of steps in the acceleration section (100 steps) x 2". For example, if the designated angle is "-60 °", the rotation indicator 120 outputs a pulse signal for 400 steps. After that, the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S406.

[Step S404] The rotation instruction unit 120 calculates the number of steps "αH" for the rotation error. The number of steps for the rotation error is obtained by "{step angle x number of steps in the acceleration section (100)-| G _z |} x 100".

[Step S405] The rotation instruction unit 120 performs horizontal constant velocity rotation control in a constant velocity section with correction of the rotation angle. That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 executes the pulse signal output step to the motor 32a as many times as the number of times corresponding to "the number of steps (100 steps) x 2 + αH in the designated angle / step angle-acceleration section".

[Step S406] The angle calculation unit 130 calculates the angle of rotation G _z based on the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b. For example, when the constant velocity section is a section of "-40 °", the rotation angle G _z is "-50 °" if there is no step-out in the constant velocity section.

[Step S407] The rotation instruction unit 120 determines whether or not the absolute value of the rotation angle G _z is equal to "| designated angle | -step angle x number of steps in the deceleration section (100)". The rotation indicator 120 is provided with a certain allowable range in determining whether or not the absolute value of the rotation angle G _z is equal to "| designated angle | -step angle x number of steps in the deceleration section (100)". May be good. When the absolute value of the rotation angle G _z is equal to "| designated angle | -step angle x number of steps (100) in the deceleration section", the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S408. Further, when the absolute value of the rotation angle G _z is not equal to "| designated angle | -step angle x number of steps (100) in the deceleration section", the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S409.

[Step S408] The rotation instruction unit 120 controls the rotation in the horizontal direction by the angle "10 °" of the deceleration section. For example, if the designated angle is "-60 °", the rotation indicator 120 controls the motor 32a to rotate by "-10 °". That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 sets the rotation direction to a negative direction, and outputs a pulse signal (100 steps) for "10 °" to the motor 32a. After that, the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S411.

[Step S409] The rotation instruction unit 120 calculates the number of steps "βH" for the rotation error. The number of steps for the rotation error is obtained by "{| designated angle | -step angle x number of steps in the deceleration section (100)-| G _z |} x 100".

[Step S410] The rotation instruction unit 120 performs horizontal constant velocity rotation control in the deceleration section with correction of the rotation angle. That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 executes the pulse signal output step to the motor 32a as many times as the number of times corresponding to "the number of steps in the deceleration section (100 steps) + βH".

[Step S411] The angle calculation unit 130 calculates the angle of rotation G _z based on the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b. For example, when the designated angle is "-60 °", the rotation angle G _z is "-60 °" if there is no step-out in the deceleration section.

[Step S412] The rotation instruction unit 120 determines whether or not the absolute value of the rotation angle G _z is equal to the designated angle. The rotation indicating unit 120 may have a certain allowable range in determining whether or not the absolute value of the rotation angle G _z is equal to the designated angle. When the absolute value of the rotation angle G _z is equal to the designated angle, the rotation instruction unit 120 ends the horizontal rotation process. Further, when the absolute value of the rotation angle G _z is not equal to the designated angle, the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S413.

[Step S413] The rotation instruction unit 120 controls the rotation of the error in the horizontal direction. For example, the rotation indicator 120 controls the motor 32a so that "designated angle-rotation angle G _z " is set as the error angle and the motor 32a rotates by the error angle. That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 outputs a pulse signal (error angle × 100 steps) corresponding to the error angle to the motor 32a. After that, the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S411.

In this way, it is possible to perform the rotation process in the horizontal direction while correcting the rotation angle during the rotation.
FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for directional rotation processing of gravity accompanied by correction during rotation. Hereinafter, the process shown in FIG. 22 will be described along with the step numbers.

[Step S501] The angle calculation unit 130 calculates the angle of rotation G _y based on the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b. If the pulse signal is output in 100 steps in step S304 (see FIG. 20) and step-out has not occurred, the rotation angle G _y is “10 °”.

[Step S502] The rotation instruction unit 120 determines whether or not the absolute value of the rotation angle G _y is equal to "step angle x number of steps in the acceleration section (100)". The rotation indicating unit 120 may have a certain allowable range in determining whether or not the absolute value of the rotation angle G _y is equal to "step angle x number of steps in the acceleration section (100)". When the absolute value of the rotation angle G _y is equal to "step angle x number of steps in the acceleration section (100)", the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S503. Further, when the absolute value of the rotation angle G _y is not equal to "step angle x number of steps (100) in the acceleration section", the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S504.

[Step S503] Since there is no deviation between the current rotation angle and the angle of the acceleration section, the rotation instruction unit 120 performs constant velocity rotation control in the direction of gravity in the constant velocity section without correcting the rotation angle. That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 executes the pulse signal output step to the motor 32b as many times as the number of times corresponding to "the number of steps (100) x 2 in the designated angle / step angle-acceleration section". For example, if the designated angle is "60 °", the rotation indicator 120 outputs a pulse signal for 400 steps. After that, the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S506.

[Step S504] The rotation instruction unit 120 calculates the number of steps "αV" for the rotation error. The number of steps for the rotation error is obtained by "{step angle x number of steps in the acceleration section (100)-| _Gy |} x 100".

[Step S505] The rotation instruction unit 120 performs constant velocity rotation control in the direction of gravity in the constant velocity section with correction of the rotation angle. That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 executes the pulse signal output step to the motor 32b as many times as the number of times corresponding to "the number of steps (100) x 2 + αV in the designated angle / step angle-acceleration section".

[Step S506] The angle calculation unit 130 calculates the angle of rotation G _y based on the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b. For example, when the constant velocity section is a section of "40 °", the rotation angle G _y is "50 °" if step-out does not occur in the constant velocity section.

[Step S507] The rotation instruction unit 120 determines whether or not the absolute value of the rotation angle G _y is equal to "| designated angle | -step angle x number of steps in the deceleration section (100)". The rotation indicator 120 is provided with a certain allowable range in determining whether or not the absolute value of the rotation angle G _y is equal to "| designated angle | -step angle x number of steps in the deceleration section (100)". May be good. When the absolute value of the rotation angle G _y is equal to "| designated angle | -step angle x number of steps (100) in the deceleration section", the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S508. Further, when the absolute value of the rotation angle G _y is not equal to "| designated angle | -step angle x number of steps (100) in the deceleration section", the rotation instruction unit 120 proceeds to step S509.

[Step S508] The rotation instruction unit 120 controls the rotation in the direction of gravity for the angle "10 °" of the deceleration section. For example, if the designated angle is "60 °", the rotation indicator 120 controls the motor 32b to rotate by "10 °". That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 sets the rotation direction to the positive direction, and outputs a pulse signal (100 steps) for "10 °" to the motor 32b. After that, the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S511.

[Step S509] The rotation instruction unit 120 calculates the number of steps "βV" for the rotation error. The number of steps for the rotation error is obtained by "{| designated angle | -step angle x number of steps in the deceleration section (100)-| _Gy |} x 100".

[Step S510] The rotation instruction unit 120 performs constant velocity rotation control in the direction of gravity in the deceleration section, accompanied by correction of the rotation angle. That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 executes the pulse signal output step to the motor 32b as many times as the number of times corresponding to "the number of steps in the acceleration section (100 steps) + βV".

[Step S511] The angle calculation unit 130 calculates the angle of rotation G _y based on the measured value of the gyro sensor 31b. For example, when the designated angle is "60 °", the rotation angle G _y is "60 °" unless step-out occurs in the deceleration section.

[Step S512] The rotation instruction unit 120 determines whether or not the absolute value of the rotation angle G _y is equal to the designated angle. The rotation indicating unit 120 may have a certain allowable range in determining whether or not the absolute value of the rotation angle G _y is equal to the designated angle. When the absolute value of the rotation angle G _y is equal to the designated angle, the rotation instruction unit 120 ends the gravitational direction rotation process. If the absolute value of the rotation angle G _y is not equal to the designated angle, the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S513.

[Step S513] The rotation instruction unit 120 controls the rotation of the error in the direction of gravity. For example, the rotation indicator 120 controls the motor 32b so that "designated angle-rotation angle G _y " is set as the error angle and the motor 32b rotates by the error angle. That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 outputs a pulse signal (error angle × 100 steps) corresponding to the error angle to the motor 32b. After that, the rotation instruction unit 120 advances the process to step S511.

In this way, it is possible to perform rotation processing in the direction of gravity while correcting the rotation angle during rotation.
In this way, by correcting the rotation angle even when the speaker 33 is directed to the target person 21, the sound output from the speaker 33 can be accurately delivered to the target person 21. Further, by correcting the rotation angle even during the rotation operation of the speaker 33, the speaker 33 can be smoothly rotated while the correction is performed.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. In the fourth embodiment, the deviation of the rotation angle is corrected without using the gyro sensor 31b.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the initialization process when the gyro sensor is not used. The processing of steps S601 to S606 shown in FIG. 23 is the same as the processing of steps S101 to S106 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 15, respectively. Therefore, the processing after step S607, which is different from the second embodiment, will be described below along with the step numbers.

[Step S607] The angle calculation unit 130 acquires the measured value of the geomagnetic sensor 31c. Then, the angle calculation unit 130 determines the current orientation M1 of the speaker 33 based on the measured value of the geomagnetic sensor 31c.

[Step S608] The rotation instruction unit 120 controls the constant velocity rotation of the speaker 33 at a predetermined angle in the horizontal direction. For example, it is assumed that the reference rotation angle ZH in the horizontal direction during the initialization process is set to "10 °". In this case, the rotation indicator 120 controls the motor 32a to rotate by "10 °". That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 outputs a pulse signal for "10 °" to the motor 32a.

[Step S609] The angle calculation unit 130 acquires the measured value of the geomagnetic sensor 31c. Then, the angle calculation unit 130 determines the current orientation M1'of the speaker 33 based on the measured value of the geomagnetic sensor 31c.

[Step S610] The rotation instruction unit 120 determines whether or not the difference (| M1'-M1 |) between the direction M1'and the direction M1 is equal to the reference rotation angle ZH "10 °". The rotation indicator 120 may have a certain allowable range in determining whether or not the difference between the direction M1'and the direction M1 is equal to the reference rotation angle ZH "10 °". If the difference between the direction M1'and the direction M1 is "10 °", the rotation instruction unit 120 proceeds to the process in step S608. If the difference between the direction M1'and the direction M1 is not "10 °", the rotation instruction unit 120 proceeds to the process in step S611.

[Step S611] The rotation instruction unit 120 controls the constant velocity rotation of the speaker 33 at a predetermined angle in the horizontal direction (for example, half the angle of the movable range of rotation in the horizontal direction). For example, it is assumed that the movable range of rotation in the horizontal direction is "180 °", and the speaker 33 is rotated to the end in the positive rotation direction by the processing of steps S608 to S610. In this case, the rotation indicator 120 controls the motor 32a to rotate by "−90 °". That is, the rotation instruction unit 120 sets the rotation direction to a negative direction and outputs a pulse signal for "90 °" to the motor 32a.

[Step S612] The angle calculation unit 130 acquires the measured value of the geomagnetic sensor 31c when the output of the pulse signal to the motor 32a by the rotation instruction unit 120 is completed. Then, the angle calculation unit 130 determines the origin direction M0 based on the measured value of the geomagnetic sensor 31c. That is, the angle calculation unit 130 sets the direction in which the speaker 33 faces when the current direction of the speaker 33 is horizontal as the origin direction M0. The angle calculation unit 130 stores the acquired measured value of the geomagnetic sensor 31c in the storage unit 110 as origin orientation information.

In this way, the origin direction M0 can be determined at the time of initialization without using the gyro sensor 31b. After that, the angle calculation unit 130 calculates the rotation angle of the speaker 33 when it is rotated in the horizontal direction by the difference between the direction of the speaker 33 and the origin direction M0 when the direction of the speaker 33 is horizontal at that time. Further, the angle calculation unit 130 calculates the rotation angle of the speaker 33 when rotating in the direction of gravity based on the inclination obtained based on the measured value of the acceleration sensor 31a. As a result, it is possible to correct the error of the rotation angle in the horizontal direction and the rotation angle in the direction of gravity without using the gyro sensor 31b.

[Other embodiments]
In the second to fourth embodiments, each sensor is a three-dimensional sensor, but for example, since the Y-axis component of the acceleration measured by the acceleration sensor 31a is not used, the acceleration sensor 31a is a two-dimensional sensor. Can also be used. Further, the inclination of the speaker 33 in the front direction from the gravity direction can be calculated, for example, by changing the value of the component of one axis (for example, the X axis or the Z axis shown in FIG. 8). Therefore, it is also possible to use a one-dimensional sensor as the acceleration sensor 31a.

Further, as the geomagnetic sensor 31c, a two-dimensional sensor can be used as long as it can detect the orientation in the horizontal direction.
Although the embodiment has been illustrated above, the configuration of each part shown in the embodiment can be replaced with another having the same function. Moreover, other arbitrary components and processes may be added. Further, any two or more configurations (features) of the above-described embodiments may be combined.

10 Speaker device 11 Speaker 12 First motor 13 Second motor 14 Acceleration sensor 15 Geomagnetic sensor 16 Rotation control device 16a Storage unit 16b Processing unit

Claims (8)

With speakers
A first motor that rotates the speaker around a horizontal first rotation axis, and
An acceleration sensor that is attached to a position that rotates with the speaker and measures acceleration in a predetermined axial direction,
A first rotation instruction for rotating the speaker about the first rotation axis by a first designated angle is output to the first motor, and the rotation of the first motor according to the instruction is stopped. After that, the information indicating the acceleration is acquired from the acceleration sensor, the angle difference between the direction of the speaker and the direction of gravity is calculated based on the information indicating the acceleration, and the direction of the speaker and the direction of gravity are A rotation control device that calculates a first error between the rotation angle of the speaker and the first designated angle in response to the first rotation instruction based on the angle difference .
Speaker device with. The rotation control device outputs a correction rotation instruction for rotating the speaker by the amount of the first error in a direction of reducing the first error to the first motor.
The speaker device according to claim 1 . With speakers
A first motor that rotates the speaker around a horizontal first rotation axis, and
An acceleration sensor that is attached to a position that rotates with the speaker and measures acceleration in a predetermined axial direction,
A gyro sensor that is attached to a position that rotates with the speaker and measures the angular velocity of rotation,
After instructing the first motor to rotate and stopping the rotation of the first motor according to the instruction, information indicating the acceleration is acquired from the acceleration sensor, and the speaker is based on the information indicating the acceleration. A rotation control device that calculates the angle difference between the direction of
Have,
The rotation control device outputs a number of pulse signals corresponding to a third designated angle to the first motor, and periodically from the gyro sensor during rotation of the speaker around the first rotation axis. The information indicating the angular velocity is acquired, the rotation angle around the first rotation axis of the speaker is calculated based on the acquired information indicating the angular velocity, and the number of pulse signals output by a predetermined timing is 1. The difference between the angle obtained by multiplying the rotation angle of the first motor per pulse and the rotation angle is calculated, and the number of pulses output after the predetermined timing is corrected according to the difference.
Speaker system. The rotation control device divides the rotation according to the third designated angle into an acceleration section, a constant velocity section, and a deceleration section. In the acceleration section, the output interval of the pulse signal is shortened with the passage of time, and the like. In the high speed section, the pulse signal is output at regular intervals, and in the deceleration section, the output interval of the pulse signal is lengthened with the passage of time, and at least one of the acceleration section, the constant velocity section, and the deceleration section. The time when the output of the pulse signal corresponding to one section is completed is set as the predetermined timing.
The speaker device according to claim 3 . A second motor that rotates the speaker around a second axis of rotation parallel to the direction of gravity, and
A geomagnetic sensor that is attached to a position that rotates with the speaker and measures the direction of the geomagnetism,
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The rotation control device instructs the second motor to rotate, obtains information indicating the direction of the geomagnetism from the geomagnetic sensor after the rotation of the second motor according to the instruction is stopped, and obtains information indicating the direction of the geomagnetism of the geomagnetism. Based on the information indicating the direction, the angle difference between the orientation of the speaker when the speaker is oriented horizontally and the origin orientation preset in the horizontal direction is calculated.
The speaker device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . The rotation control device outputs a second rotation instruction for rotating the speaker about the second rotation axis by a second designated angle to the second motor, and directs the speaker horizontally. A second error between the rotation angle of the speaker and the second designated angle in response to the second rotation instruction is calculated based on the angle difference between the orientation of the speaker and the origin orientation in the case.
The speaker device according to claim 5 . On the computer
And it outputs the rotation instruction to the speaker for a specified angle for the motor for rotating the speaker about a horizontal rotational axis is rotated about said rotational axis,
After the rotation of the motor is stopped according to the instruction, information indicating the acceleration is acquired from an acceleration sensor that is attached to a position that rotates with the speaker and measures acceleration in a predetermined axial direction.
Based on the information indicating the acceleration, calculating the angular difference between the direction and the direction of gravity of the speaker,
Based on the angle difference between the direction of the speaker and the direction of gravity, the error between the rotation angle of the speaker and the designated angle in response to the rotation instruction is calculated.
A rotation control program that executes processing. A speaker, a motor that rotates the speaker around a horizontal rotation axis, an acceleration sensor that is attached to a position that rotates with the speaker and measures acceleration in a predetermined axial direction, and input of a rotation instruction of the speaker. Information indicating the acceleration from the acceleration sensor after outputting a rotation instruction to rotate the speaker about the rotation axis by a specified angle to the motor and stopping the rotation of the motor according to the instruction. Is acquired, the angle difference between the direction of the speaker and the direction of gravity is calculated based on the information indicating the acceleration, and the rotation instruction is responded to based on the angle difference between the direction of the speaker and the direction of gravity. A speaker device having a rotation control device for calculating an error between the rotation angle of the speaker and the designated angle .
A rotation instruction of the speaker is transmitted to the speaker device based on the relative position between the target person to be called and the speaker device, and after the rotation of the speaker in response to the rotation instruction is completed, the speaker performs the rotation instruction. A host computer that transmits an audio signal of audio output to the target person to the speaker device, and
Information processing system with.

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