JP7134449B1 - Regulation device, regulation method - Google Patents

Abstract

A regulation device, a sound output device, and a regulation method capable of providing accurate information to a driver while suppressing noise to the surroundings are provided. A regulation device according to an embodiment is a regulation device that provides regulation information regarding traffic on a road. This restriction device includes a display unit that visually provides restriction information in a first direction, a restriction sound reproduction unit that generates a restriction sound signal that is a restriction sound that aurally represents the restriction information, and a an environmental sound acquisition unit that acquires an environmental sound and outputs it as an environmental sound signal. The restricting device further has a first directivity in the first direction and a second directivity in a second direction different from the first direction, and the first directivity is directed based on the restricting acoustic signal. and a sound output unit for outputting the environmental sound with the second directivity based on the environmental sound signal. [Selection drawing] Fig. 1

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present invention relate to a regulation device, a sound output device, and a regulation method that can call attention to a vehicle that is traveling during road construction or the like.

In road construction, etc., a part of the road is regulated in order to ensure the passage of vehicles. The regulation device provides the driver of the vehicle with information such as the presence of construction work and the lane to pass through using characters, symbols, and the like. Regulatory devices have an important role to prevent accidents in road construction.

In general, a regulation device provides information in the form of characters, symbols, etc. through the driver's eyesight. However, the information provided visually may not be accurately conveyed to the driver due to the topography, weather, etc. of the construction site. Therefore, a PA system (Public Address System) is used to provide drivers with acoustic information. Since the PA system provides information directly through the driver's sense of hearing, it is possible to provide more accurate information by combining it with visual information.

On the other hand, when information is provided by sound in road construction, it may become noise to the surroundings. Road construction is generally noisy, and regulatory acoustics for vehicles can create additional noise problems.

Utility Model Registration No. 3210323

As described above, the conventional control device, sound output device, and control method may generate noise in the surroundings when information is provided to the driver of the vehicle by sound. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a regulation device, a sound output device, and a regulation method that enable accurate information to be provided to the driver while suppressing noise to the surroundings. .

A regulation device according to an embodiment is a regulation device that provides regulation information regarding traffic on a road. This restriction device includes a display unit that visually provides restriction information in a first direction, a restriction sound reproduction unit that generates a restriction sound signal that is a restriction sound that aurally represents the restriction information, and a an environmental sound acquisition unit that acquires an environmental sound and outputs it as an environmental sound signal. The restricting device further has a first directivity in the first direction and a second directivity in a second direction different from the first direction, and the first directivity is directed based on the restricting acoustic signal. and a sound output unit for outputting the environmental sound with the second directivity based on the environmental sound signal.

In addition, the sound output device of the embodiment includes a first playback unit that generates an acoustic signal that makes a sound to be sent to a target, and records ambient environmental sound as an environmental sound signal, and outputs the recorded environmental sound signal. and a second reproducing unit that outputs sound in a first direction toward a target based on the acoustic signal, and outputs environmental sound in a second direction different from the first direction based on the environmental sound signal. and a speaker unit.

Furthermore, the regulation method of the embodiment is a regulation method for providing regulation information regarding traffic on a road, wherein the display section visually provides the regulation information in the first direction, and the regulation information is provided audibly. generating a regulated sound signal that constitutes the regulated sound represented; recording ambient environmental sound to generate an environmental sound signal that constitutes the environmental sound; Using a speaker that produces a second directivity in a second direction different from the environmental sound signal, outputs the environmental sound with the second directivity based on the environmental sound signal, and uses the speaker to output the environmental sound based on the regulatory sound signal. and outputs the regulation sound with the first directivity.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the regulation apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operating state of the control apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the speaker part of the control apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the mode of the directivity by the speaker part of 1st Embodiment. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a regulation device according to a first embodiment; FIG. It is a figure explaining the directivity control by the speaker part of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the directivity control by the speaker part of 1st Embodiment. It is a flow chart which shows operation of a regulation device concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows the mode of the noise suppression effect by the control apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the regulation apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the control apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

(Outline of the first embodiment)
The first embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the regulation device 1 of the first embodiment has a display section 2 and a speaker section 3. As shown in FIG. The regulating device 1 can be loaded on the bed of the truck 4 and transported. Also, by stopping the truck 4 at the construction site and operating the regulation device 1 loaded on the loading platform, regulation information can be provided to vehicles approaching from behind the truck 4 . The regulation information is, for example, information sent to vehicles traveling on the road, such as the presence of construction work, lanes to be traveled, speed restrictions, and the like.

The regulating device 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a substantially plate-like shape. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the upper half of the surface of the regulation device 1 is provided with a display section 2 for visually providing regulation information. A speaker unit 3 is arranged on the lower half of the surface of the regulation device 2 to provide regulation information through hearing. The display unit 2 can be realized by, for example, a display device in which LEDs are arranged. The speaker unit 3 can be realized by a speaker in which planar speaker units are arranged, a speaker whose direction can be controlled, or the like.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the operating state of the regulation device 1. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the truck 4 with the regulating device 1 loaded on the platform is parked on the road at the construction site. Behind the truck 4, a construction worker 6 is working on the road. A construction area where workers 6 work is partitioned by pylons 7 so that vehicles 5 cannot pass through. The regulation device 1 provides regulation information from the display unit 2 and acoustic regulation information from the speaker unit 3 toward the rear of the truck 4 . The vehicle 5 recognizes the existence of the construction by the display contents of the display part 2 of the control device 1 and the sound of the speaker part 3, and follows the instruction of the display contents and the sound to avoid the construction area and proceed beyond the center line CL. be able to.

A speaker unit 3 of the regulation device 1 outputs sound toward the rear of the truck 4 . At this time, the speaker unit 3 outputs three types of acoustic signals in different directions. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the speaker unit 3 produces a regulated sound including regulation information for a vehicle 5 traveling on the road, an instruction sound for a construction worker 6, a regulation sound signal, and a noise directed to a surrounding house H by the instruction sound signal. outputs an environmental sound that acoustically suppresses the The speaker unit 3 outputs the regulation sound in the direction along the road (first direction), outputs the instruction sound in the construction area (third direction) where the worker 6 is located, and outputs the environmental sound. is output toward the surrounding houses H outside the road (second direction).

The regulation sound is the regulation information expressed by voice or the like, and examples thereof include voice sounds such as "under construction ahead", "turn to the right", "slow down", and "speed up". Controlled sound is not limited to human voice. A mechanically generated voice may also be used. The instruction sound represents the contents of instructions to the worker 6 by voice or the like. Instructional sounds are typically generated in real time and the content may change from time to time. The environmental sound is a sound that can be heard in a place (surrounding environment) where the regulation device 1 is arranged. The environmental sound may be a pre-recorded sound, or may be an ambient sound recorded in real time while the regulation device 1 is in operation. The environmental sound is exemplified by, for example, the running sound of a vehicle generated on a road under construction.

The speaker unit 3 superimposes the regulation sound, the instruction sound, and the environmental sound, and outputs them with different directivities. As shown in FIG. 3, the speaker section 3 of the first embodiment has a plurality of speaker units 3a to 3f arranged on the same plane. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the speaker unit 3 has six rows of speaker units in the horizontal direction and three rows in the vertical direction, but is not limited to this. The number of speaker units affects the accuracy of the directivity of the output sound.

The regulation device 1 divides the regulation sound, the instruction sound, and the regulation sound signal for generating the environmental sound, the instruction sound signal, and the environmental sound signal into the number of speaker units, and shifts each of the divided signals to a predetermined phase difference. supplied to each speaker unit. As a result, the regulated sound signal, the instruction sound signal, and the environmental sound signal supplied to each speaker unit at a certain point in time drive the speaker units with their phase differences. Sound and environmental sounds are output from the speaker unit 3 . That is, one planar speaker section 3 can output different sounds with different directional characteristics.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the spatial directivity of the regulation sound, instruction sound, and environmental sound by the speaker unit 3. In FIG. As shown in FIG. 4 , the regulation sound directed toward the vehicle 5 is output with directivity toward the first area I. As shown in FIG. Also, the instruction sound directed at the worker 6 is output with directivity toward the second area II. Further, environmental sounds directed toward the surrounding houses H are output with directivity toward the third area III. That is, the speaker unit 3 outputs three superimposed acoustic signals toward three regions by the operation of the plurality of speaker units 3a arranged in a plane.

(environmental sound)
Sounds generated during road construction, regulated sounds for vehicles 5, and instructional sounds for workers 6 are artificially generated sounds, and may become noises for residents living in surrounding houses H and the like. In general, it is possible to suppress the influence of the road running noise of the vehicle 5 on the surrounding houses H by installing a sound insulation wall on the road in advance, but it is difficult to suppress the noise generated during construction.

The inventors of the present invention have discovered that even artificially generated sounds exist that are difficult for residents to perceive as noise. In other words, when comparing the running sounds of vehicles that we hear on a daily basis with the sounds that we hear during construction work, regulatory sounds, instructional sounds, etc., we find that the running sounds that we hear on a daily basis are more noisy than other sounds. It was found to be low. This means that even if the sound is of the same magnitude, there are some sounds that are perceived as noise and others that are not bothersome.

In addition, the inventors have found that when artificially generated sounds and sounds that can be heard on a daily basis are mixed, there is a tendency that the artificially generated sounds tend to be less likely to be perceived as noise. In other words, it was found that familiar sounds have the effect of masking other artificially generated sounds.

Based on this knowledge, the regulation device 1 of the first embodiment removes the directivity of noise and sounds that are easy to feel from residential areas, etc., and outputs sounds that are difficult to feel as noise toward residential areas. This has the effect of making it difficult to perceive the sound of squealing, regulation sound, and instruction sound as noise.

(Configuration of the first embodiment)
The configuration of the regulation device 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the regulation device 1 of the first embodiment has a regulation sound reproduction section 11a, a microphone 12, and an environmental sound acquisition section 13a. The restriction sound reproduction unit 11a, the microphone 12, and the environmental sound acquisition unit 13a each generate an acoustic signal.

The regulation sound reproduction unit 11 a is a computation block that reproduces a regulation sound signal that generates regulation sound to be output to the vehicle 5 . The regulation device 1 further has a storage section 11b connected to the regulation sound reproducing section 11a. The restricted sound reproduction unit 11a records the restricted sound signal in advance in the storage unit 11b, and outputs the restricted sound signal having predetermined contents at predetermined timing. The storage unit 11b is implemented by, for example, a nonvolatile memory. The regulation sound signal to be stored in the storage unit 11b may be recorded as a digital signal or as an analog signal.

The microphone 12 outputs an instructional sound signal that produces an instructional sound for the worker 6 . The microphone 12 receives the voice of the worker and outputs an instruction acoustic signal. The instruction sound signal output by the microphone 12 may be either a digital signal or an analog signal.

The environmental sound acquisition unit 13a is a computation block that acquires environmental sounds around the place where the regulation device 1 is installed and outputs them as environmental sound signals. The regulation device 1 has a microphone 13b and a storage section 13c connected to an environmental sound acquisition section 13a. The storage unit 13c can be implemented by, for example, a non-volatile memory. The environmental sound acquisition unit 13a records the environmental sound around the regulation device 1 through the microphone 13b and records it in the storage unit 13c as an environmental sound signal. Then, the environmental sound acquisition unit 13a can read the environmental sound signal recorded in the storage unit 13c and repeatedly output (reproduce) it at a predetermined timing.

The environmental sound acquisition unit 13 a may have a function of canceling out the regulation sound signal output by the regulation sound reproduction unit 11 a and the instruction sound signal output by the microphone 12 . This is because it is desirable that the environmental sound acquired by the environmental sound acquiring unit 13a be an environmental sound that can be heard on a daily basis at the construction site. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the environmental sound acquisition unit 13a acquires the sound using the microphone 13b and records it in the storage unit 13c, but the present invention is not limited to this. Environmental sounds recorded at another location may be recorded in advance in the storage unit 13c, or environmental sounds acquired by the microphone 13b may be output substantially in real time.

The regulation device 1 also has amplifiers 21 to 23 for amplifying the acoustic signal. The amplifiers 21 to 23 distribute and output the amplified acoustic signals to acoustic signals corresponding to the number of speaker units. In the example shown in FIG. 5, since the speaker section 3 has six speaker units 3a to 3f arranged in a plane in the horizontal direction, the amplifiers 21 to 23 respectively distribute and output six acoustic signals.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, the amplifier 21 amplifies the regulation sound signal output by the regulation sound reproducing section 11a. The amplifier 22 amplifies the instruction sound signal output by the microphone 12 . The amplifier 23 amplifies the environmental sound signal output by the environmental sound acquisition unit 13a. The amplifiers 21 to 23 are configured so that their gains can be controlled by external control.

The regulating device 1 has phase shifting sections 31 to 33 that individually phase-shift and control the distributed and output acoustic signals. The phase shifters 31 to 33 individually phase shift the input acoustic signals. In the example shown in FIG. 5 , the phase shifter 31 includes six phase shifters that perform phase shift control on the six acoustic signals distributed and output by the amplifier 21 . The phase shifters 32 and 33 are the same, and are provided with six phase shifters for controlling the phase shift of the six acoustic signals distributed and output by the amplifiers 21 and 22, respectively.

The phase shifter 31 individually performs phase shift control on the six regulatory sound signals amplified and distributed by the amplifier 21 . The phase shift section 32 individually performs phase shift control on the six instruction acoustic signals amplified and distributed by the amplifier 22 . The phase shifter 33 individually performs phase shift control on the six environmental sound signals amplified and distributed by the amplifier 23 .

The regulation device 1 has a superimposing unit 40 that synthesizes (superimposes) phase-shift-controlled acoustic signals for each corresponding speaker unit. The superimposing unit 40 has a synthesizer for the number of speaker units. The superimposing unit 40 outputs six regulation sound signals phase-shifted by the phase-shifting unit 31, six instruction sound signals phase-shifted by the phase-shifting unit 32, and six environmental sound signals phase-shifted by the phase-shifting unit 33. are synthesized in units of corresponding speaker units. As a result, the superimposing unit 40 outputs six acoustic signals corresponding to the speaker units. The six acoustic signals output by the superimposing unit 40 are obtained by superimposing the six regulatory acoustic signals, the six instruction acoustic signals, and the six environmental sound signals.

The regulation device 1 has a driver 50 that amplifies the superimposed acoustic signal for each corresponding speaker unit. The driver 50 independently amplifies the six acoustic signals synthesized by the superimposing section 40 . The six acoustic signals amplified by the driver 50 drive the speaker units 3a to 3f, respectively.

The regulation device 1 further has an input interface (I/F) 10 , an acoustic signal control section 20 , a phase shift control section 30 and a display control section 60 . The input interface 10 is an interface through which a user inputs information and controls the regulation device 1 . The input interface 10 is implemented by, for example, a keyboard, mouse, switches, and the like.

The sound signal control unit 20 controls the regulation sound reproduction unit 11a, the microphone 12, the environmental sound acquisition unit 13a, and the amplifiers 21 to 23 to adjust the output timing and signal strength of the regulation sound signal, the instruction sound signal, and the environmental sound signal. It is a calculation block that The acoustic signal control unit 20 outputs a regulation acoustic signal, an instruction acoustic signal, and an environmental sound signal according to the instruction received from the user through the input interface 10 regarding signal output, volume, and the like.

The phase shift control unit 30 is a calculation block that determines the phase of each of the regulation sound signal, instruction sound signal, and environmental sound signal divided by the number of speaker units, and controls the phase shifters of the phase shift units 31 to 33 . The phase shift control unit 30 controls the phase shift amount of each phase shifter of the phase shift units 31 to 33 based on the instruction regarding the output direction of the regulation sound, the instruction sound, and the environmental sound received through the input interface 10, and the antenna 3 determines the directivity.

The display control unit 60 is a computation block that displays predetermined restriction information on the display unit 2 based on the content of restriction information received by the display unit 2 through the input interface 10 . The display control unit 60 may cause the display unit 2 to display characters or graphics input through the input interface 10, or cause a storage unit (not shown) to record standardized regulation information in advance as character information or graphic information, and display predetermined information. may be displayed on the display unit 2 at the timing of .

(Directivity control of speaker)
Directivity control of sound output from the speaker unit 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. In the case where the restricted audio reproduction unit 11a is outputting the restricted sound signal, if the amount of phase shift by the phase shifter of the phase shifter 31 is zero, the six restricted sound signals divided and output by the amplifier 21 are obtained. are output from the phase shifter 31 in phase. In this state, when the driver 50 drives the speaker units 3a to 3f with the six regulated sound signals output from the phase shifter 31, the speaker units 3a to 3f output the regulated sounds of the same phase. A sound having strong directivity in a direction (x direction) perpendicular to the arrangement direction (y direction) of the speaker units is output (FIG. 6A).

On the other hand, when each phase shifter of the phase shifter 31 is set so that the phase shift amount by the phase shifter of the phase shifter 31 is delayed in the y direction, the amplifier 21 divides and outputs and inputs to the speaker units 3a to 3f. The six regulated sound signals are phase-delayed from speaker unit 3f to speaker unit 3a (FIG. 6B). In other words, the restricted sound output by the speaker unit 3 as a whole is output with directivity biased in the y direction. The regulation device 1 of the first embodiment achieves desired directional characteristics for the entire speaker section 3 by performing phase shift control on each of the divided acoustic signals.

Desired directional characteristics can be realized similarly for the instruction sound based on the instruction sound signal output from the microphone 12 and the environmental sound based on the environmental sound signal output from the environmental sound acquisition unit 13a. In the regulating device 1 of the first embodiment, the superimposition unit 40 synthesizes three acoustic signals, but in this synthesizing process, the phase shifts of the respective acoustic signals do not affect each other due to the principle of wave superposition. . Accordingly, independent directivity can be imparted to each of the regulation sound, the instruction sound, and the environmental sound output from the speaker unit 3 by phase shift control for each of the regulation sound signal, the instruction sound signal, and the environmental sound signal.

(Operation of the first embodiment)
Next, operation of the regulation device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 7. FIG. In the regulating device 1 shown in FIG. 5, the input interface 10 receives the setting of conditions for operating the regulating device from the user (S100). The conditions that determine the operation of the regulation device 1 include the content of the regulation sound signal that constitutes the regulation sound, the acquisition method of the environmental sound, the level setting of each of the regulation sound, the instruction sound, and the environmental sound, and the respective levels of the regulation sound, the instruction sound, and the environmental sound. output direction, etc. The contents of the regulation sound signal are, for example, voice contents such as "under construction ahead", "turn to the right", "slow down", and "speed up". The acquisition method of the environmental sound is, for example, the acquisition time of the environmental sound acquired at the site. The level setting of each of the regulation sound, instruction sound, and environmental sound is the setting of the loudness of the sound output by the speaker unit 3 . The output direction of each of the regulation sound, instruction sound, and environmental sound is the output direction of each sound. Various conditions received by the input interface 10 are sent to the restriction sound reproduction section 11a, the environmental sound acquisition section 13a, and the phase shift sections 31 to 33 through the acoustic signal control section 20 and the phase shift control section 30, respectively.

Next, the environmental sound acquisition unit 13a stores the ambient environmental sound acquired by the microphone 13b as an environmental sound signal in the storage unit 13c based on the conditions accepted by the input interface 10 (S110).

The phase shift control unit 30 calculates the amount of delay to be given to each of the sound signals to be supplied to the speaker units 3a to 3f, based on the information regarding the sound output direction received by the input interface 10. FIG. The phase shift controller 30 sets the calculated delay amount to each of the phase shifters of the phase shifters 31 to 33 (S120).

After setting the phase shifters of the phase shifters 31 to 33 , the environmental sound acquisition unit 13 a reads the environmental sound signal stored in the storage unit 13 c and outputs it to the amplifier 23 . The amplifier 23 divides the amplified environmental sound signal into six and sends them to the phase shifter 33 . The phase shifter 33 performs phase shift control on each of the six environmental sound signals based on the delay amount calculated by the phase shift controller 30 , and sends them to the superimposing unit 40 . At this time, no regulatory sound signal or instruction sound signal is generated, so the superimposing unit 40 sends the received six environmental sound signals to the driver 50, and the driver 50 drives the speaker units 3a to 3f to output the environmental sounds. (S130). At this time, the environmental sound output by the speaker unit 3 is output in the output direction accepted by the input interface 10 .

Subsequently, the restricted sound reproduction unit 11 a reads out the restricted sound signal having the content received by the input interface 10 from the storage unit 11 b and outputs it to the amplifier 21 . The restriction sound reproduction unit 11a may repeatedly output the restriction sound signal read from the storage unit 11b. The amplifier 21 divides the amplified regulatory sound signal into six and sends them to the phase shift section 31 . The phase shifter 31 performs phase shift control on each of the six regulation sound signals based on the delay amount calculated by the phase shift controller 30 and sends them to the superimposing unit 40 . The superimposing unit 40 synthesizes the received six regulation sound signals and six environmental sound signals and sends them to the driver 50, and the driver 50 drives the speaker units 3a to 3f to output the regulation sound in addition to the environmental sounds ( S140). At this time, the restricted sound output by the speaker unit 3 is output in the output direction accepted by the input interface 10 .

At this stage, the microphone 12 is ready to receive an instruction voice from the worker. When an operator inputs a command voice through the microphone 12 , the amplifier 22 amplifies the command voice as a command sound signal, distributes the amplified command sound signals to six, and sends them to the phase shifter 32 . The phase shifter 32 performs phase shift control on each of the six instruction acoustic signals based on the delay amount calculated by the phase shift controller 30 , and sends them to the superimposing unit 40 . The superimposing unit 40 synthesizes the received six instruction sound signals, six regulation sound signals and six environmental sound signals and sends them to the driver 50, and the driver 50 drives the speaker units 3a to 3f to produce the regulation sound and the environmental sound. In addition, an instruction sound is output (S150). At this time, the instruction sound output by the speaker unit 3 is output in the output direction accepted by the input interface 10 .

In this way, the regulation device 1 of the embodiment outputs different acoustic signals as sounds with different directivity, so that desired sounds can be directed to targets such as vehicles and workers while suppressing noises that make people feel uncomfortable in surrounding houses. can be output.

Although the speaker units are arranged in the horizontal direction and the phases of the acoustic signals supplied to them are controlled in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 3, the speaker units may be arranged both vertically and horizontally, and the phase shift control may be applied to the acoustic signals supplied to all the speaker units. As a result, directivity control not only in the horizontal direction but also in the vertical direction becomes possible, and fine directivity control of sound becomes possible.

Moreover, in the above-described embodiment, the directional characteristics in which the regulation sound, the instruction sound, and the environmental sound are separated in the horizontal direction are employed, but the present invention is not limited to this. The environmental sound may be output so as to surround the output direction of the control sound and the instruction sound. As a result, even when there are neighboring houses H on both sides of the road or when there are high-rise houses nearby, it is possible to suppress unpleasant noise.

(Example)
The effect of suppressing unpleasant noise by the regulation device 1 of the embodiment was verified. As shown in FIG. 8, two types of restricted sounds (“under construction” and “caution”) and environmental sounds were output from the loudspeaker unit 3 in a 200-m straight field simulating a road. The volume levels of the regulated sound "under construction" and "caution" are 86 dB/94 dB at a point 2 m from the speaker unit 3, 72 dB/80 dB at a point 50 m away, 71 dB/78 dB at a point 100 m away, and 53 dB/60 dB at a point 150 m away. , 52 dB/58 dB at 200 m. In such an environment, environmental sounds were output while increasing the volume level. The restricted sound was output with single directivity in the vertical direction of the plane of the speaker unit 3, and the environmental sound was output with single directivity in a direction tilted 25 degrees from the vertical direction of the plane of the speaker unit 3.

An evaluation point a is placed at a point 100 m from the speaker unit 3, an evaluation point b is placed at a point 10 m away from a straight line connecting the point and the speaker unit 3 in the directivity direction in which the environmental sound is output, Similarly, the evaluation point c was placed at a point of 20 m, and the evaluation point d was similarly placed at a point of 30 m. Then, in a state in which the speaker unit 3 outputs the regulatory sound and the environmental sound, how the regulatory sound is heard at the evaluation points a to d was investigated. There are 10 participants in the survey.

Table 1 shows the results of the investigation. In Table 1, "A" indicates that the restricted sound can be heard directly, "B" indicates that the restricted sound can be heard, and "C" indicates that the restricted sound can be heard if one listens carefully and is not noticeable during conversation. , and "D" indicates a case in which the regulation sound is almost inaudible.

As shown in Table 1, at positions (evaluation points a and b) up to about 10 m from a straight line extending in the vertical direction from the plane of the speaker unit 3, the restricted sound was audible. On the other hand, at positions (evaluation points c and d) more than 10 m away from a straight line extending vertically from the plane of the speaker unit 3, the restraint sound was masked by the environmental sound, and most of the participants did not hear it. . From this, it can be seen that by setting the output direction of the environmental sound according to, for example, a residential area on the side of the road, it is possible to make the regulation sound and the instruction sound unnoticeable.

(Configuration of Second Embodiment)
Next, the regulation device 1a according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the restriction device 1a of this embodiment is obtained by changing the configuration of the speaker section of the first embodiment. In the following description, elements common to those of the first embodiment are denoted by common reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 9, the regulation device 1a according to the second embodiment includes a speaker section 3a having speaker units 3g to 3i respectively corresponding to the regulation sound signal, instruction sound signal and environmental sound signal. The speaker units 3g to 3i have a mechanism for controlling the direction of output, and the directivity of each of the speaker units 3g to 3i can be physically controlled by the direction control section 30a. A mechanism for controlling the direction of output can be realized, for example, by a system for controlling the posture of the speaker units 3g to 3i.

The direction control section 30a directly controls the direction of output of the speaker units 3g to 3i based on the information about the output direction of the sound received by the input interface 10. FIG. That is, if the directivity of the speaker units 3g to 3i is set to unidirectional, the azimuth control unit 30a physically controls the attitude of the speaker units 3g to 3i to control the regulation sound signal, the instructing sound signal, and the environment. The directional characteristics of each sound signal can be controlled.

In the regulating device 1a of this embodiment, directivity can be physically controlled by controlling the posture of the speaker units 3g to 3i. Therefore, desired sound can be output to targets such as vehicles and workers while suppressing noise that makes people feel uncomfortable in surrounding houses.

(Configuration of the third embodiment)
Next, a regulation device 1b according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, in the regulation device 1b of this embodiment, the arrangement relationship between the display section and the speaker section of the first embodiment is changed. In the following description, elements common to those of the first embodiment are denoted by common reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 10, the regulation device 1b of this embodiment has a display section 2z arranged on the front surface of the main body, and a speaker section 3z arranged on the rear surface of the display section 2z. The display unit 2z is provided with a gap HL that allows sound to pass from the rear surface to the front surface. That is, the sound output by the speaker section 3z arranged on the back surface of the display section 2z is emitted to the space through the gap HL provided in the display section 2z. The point that the speaker section 3z is composed of a plurality of speaker units arranged in a plane is common to the speaker unit of the first embodiment.

According to the embodiment 1b of this embodiment, the speaker unit 3z has the same size as the display unit 2z, and the display unit 2z is provided with a configuration that allows sound to pass through. can be done.

While several embodiments of the invention have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Regulating device, 2... Display part, 3... Speaker part, 3a-3i... Speaker unit, 4... Truck, 5... Vehicle, 6... Worker, 7... Pylon, H... Surrounding house, 10... Input interface, 11a 11 b : storage unit 12 : microphone 13 a : ambient sound acquisition unit 13 b : microphone 13 c : storage unit 20 : acoustic signal control unit 21 to 23 : amplifier 30 : phase shift control unit , 31 to 33 ... phase shift section, 40 ... superimposition section, 50 ... driver, 60 ... display control section.

Claims (6)

A regulation device for providing regulation information regarding traffic on a road,
a display unit that visually provides the regulation information in a first direction;
a regulation sound reproduction unit that generates a regulation sound signal that is a regulation sound that aurally expresses the regulation information;
an environmental sound acquisition unit that acquires surrounding environmental sounds and outputs them as environmental sound signals;
having a first directivity in the first direction and a second directivity in a second direction different from the first direction, wherein the first directivity is determined based on the regulatory sound signal a sound output unit configured to output the restricted sound with the directivity and output the environmental sound with the second directivity based on the environmental sound signal;
Regulatory device with. The sound output unit is
a plurality of speaker units arranged on a plane;
dividing the regulation sound signal into the plurality of speaker units, and phase-shifting each of the divided regulation sound signals so as to have a phase relationship that produces the first directivity when the plurality of speaker units are driven; a controlling first phase shifter;
dividing the environmental sound signal by the number of the plurality of speaker units, and shifting each of the divided environmental sound signals so as to have a phase shift relationship that produces the second directivity when the plurality of speaker units are driven; a phase-controlled second phase shifter;
each of the divided regulation sound signals phase-shift-controlled by the first phase-shifting section and each of the divided environmental sound signals phase-shift-controlled by the second phase-shifting section are divided into the plurality of speaker units; a synthesizing unit for synthesizing so as to correspond to and driving the plurality of speaker units;
2. The regulation device according to claim 1, comprising: 3. The restricting device according to claim 2, wherein the display section is arranged on the same plane as the arrangement of the plurality of speaker units. The environmental sound acquisition unit
a microphone that acquires the ambient environmental sound;
a storage unit that records the acquired environmental sound as an environmental sound signal;
4. The regulation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a reproduction section that reproduces the environmental sound signal recorded in the storage section at a predetermined cycle. further comprising a microphone that receives an instruction sound including an auditory instruction in a third direction different from any of the first direction and the second direction and generates an instruction sound signal that forms the instruction sound;
The sound output unit further has a third directivity toward the third direction, and further outputs the instruction sound with the third directivity based on the instruction sound signal. A regulation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . A regulation method for providing regulation information regarding traffic on a road, comprising:
Visually providing the regulation information in a first direction by a display unit;
generating a regulated sound signal that forms a regulated sound that aurally expresses the regulated information; records surrounding environmental sounds to produce an environmental sound signal that forms the environmental sounds;
using a speaker that produces a first directivity in the first direction and a second directivity in a second direction different from the first direction, based on the environmental sound signal; Outputting the environmental sound with the directivity of 2,
A regulation method of outputting the regulation sound with the first directivity based on the regulation sound signal using the speaker.

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