JP7430076B2 - Wireless system, main device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a wireless system with an improved volume adjustment function, and a slave device and a main device that constitute the wireless system.

2. Description of the Related Art One known wireless system such as a wireless intercom is composed of a slave unit, a main unit, and a base unit. In this wireless system, audio transmitted from the handset and external audio equipment or other handsets to the main device is mixed in the main device and then transmitted again to the handset via the main device. For example, the handset in the wireless system shown in FIG. 8(a) can simultaneously receive audio from the handset and external audio equipment, and the handset in the wireless system shown in FIG. 8(b) can receive audio from the handset and external audio equipment simultaneously. and audio from other handsets at the same time. That is, the handset can receive two systems of audio at the same time, and the two systems of audio are the audio from the handset and the audio from an external audio device or another handset. Such wireless systems are mainly used in broadcasting stations, theaters, and the like. Although not particularly illustrated, transmission from the handset and external audio equipment or other handset to the main device is also performed via the main device, similar to transmission from the main device to the handset.

In this wireless system, the handset is equipped with two volume adjustment volumes for individually adjusting the volume of these two audio systems. By operating this volume adjustment volume, the user can individually adjust the volume of the two systems of audio to be received. For example, in FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b), of the two volume adjustment volumes provided on the handset, the one that adjusts the volume of audio data transmitted from the handset is volume A, and the external audio device or Volume B is used to adjust the volume of audio data transmitted from other handsets. Volumes A and B generate volume information VA and VB, respectively, by the user's individual operations, and transmit the volume information VA and VB to the main device. The main device individually adjusts the volume of the two systems of audio data based on the volume information VA and VB. Thereafter, the main device mixes the two systems of audio data, each of which has been individually adjusted in volume, and transmits it to the slave device via the parent device. The handset can simultaneously listen to two systems of audio data, each with its volume adjusted individually.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-058872

In the conventional technology, there were the following three problems. First, the upper and lower limits of adjustable volume are defined for the entire wireless system, including the main unit, so if the slave unit transmits volume information VA and VB that exceed these upper and lower limits, the main unit There were cases where the audio that was volume-adjusted on the device was distorted.

Second, in addition to audio data transmitted from external audio equipment or other slave devices, the main device receives audio data from one slave device and two volume information VAs that control these two systems of audio data. and VB. Furthermore, the main device must adjust the volume based on the volume information VA and VB, and must also mix the two systems of audio data. Therefore, as the number of slave devices connected to the main device increases, the load on the main device increases.

Thirdly, the slave device transmits the volume information VA and VB to the main device by wireless communication, but in order to reduce the time taken to send and receive data and improve the responsiveness of volume adjustment, the volume information It is necessary to thin out the data that constitutes VA and VB. Furthermore, data thinning is necessary to reduce the load on the main device as described above and to prevent significant delays. As a result, the linearity of the volume change is lost.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a wireless system that suppresses audio distortion caused by volume adjustment, reduces the load on the main device, and further maintains linearity of volume changes. purpose.

The wireless system of the present invention has the following configuration.
(1) A wireless system consisting of a plurality of slave units provided with a main volume and a sub-volume, a main unit that outputs mixed audio information, and a base unit that transmits the mixed audio information to the slave units. It is.
(2) The slave device includes a transmitter that transmits the audio input to the slave device as main audio information to the main device, and a transmitter that generates mixing amount information according to the setting of the secondary volume, and generates mixing amount information according to the setting of the secondary volume. The apparatus includes a mixing amount determining section that transmits information to the main device, and a volume adjusting section that adjusts the volume of the mixed audio information according to the setting of the main volume.
(3) The main device includes a mixing amount adjusting section that adjusts a mixing ratio of the main audio information and sub audio information received from an external audio device or another slave device according to the mixing amount information; a mixing unit that mixes the main audio information and the sub audio information based on a ratio to produce the mixed audio information; an output unit that outputs the mixed audio information to the parent device; a mixing amount adjustment unit; and a mixing section that mixes the plurality of pieces of the mixed audio information that have been mixed by the plurality of sets of the mixing amount adjusting section and the mixing section, respectively .

A slave device and a main device that constitute the wireless system are also an aspect of the present invention.

The wireless system of the present invention can suppress audio distortion caused by volume adjustment, reduce the load on the main device, and maintain linearity of volume changes.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a wireless system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an external view showing a slave device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a slave device according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the main device according to the embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing part of a wireless system according to an embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the wireless system according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a wireless system according to another embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conventional wireless system.

[Embodiment]
[composition]
[1. Wireless system]
As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless system 1 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of handsets 2a, 2b, 2p, 2q, 2x, 2y including a headset H, and a plurality of handsets 2a, 2b, 2p, 2q, A main device 3 that performs wireless communication with the main device 2 It includes base units 4a and 4b. As the frequency of wireless communication, for example, a 2.4 GHz band corresponding to a general wireless LAN, a 1.9 GHz band corresponding to the DECT standard, etc. can be used. In addition, when explaining the handset 2a, 2b, 2p, 2q, 2x, and 2y without distinguishing them or when explaining them all together, the handset 2a, 2b, 2p, 2q, 2x, and 2y are simply referred to as the handset 2. It is written as. Similar notation is used for other symbols.

[2. Cordless handset]
The handset 2 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the handset 2 includes two volume adjustment volumes. In the handset 2 of this embodiment, one of the two volume adjustment volumes is the main volume M, and the other is the sub volume S. The main volume M adjusts the volume of the mixed audio information transmitted from the base unit 4. The sub-volume S adjusts the mixing ratio of the two systems of audio data in the mixed audio information. Specifically, the mixing amount for one of the two audio data systems is adjusted. As shown in FIG. 3, the handset 2 includes a first receiving section 21, a volume adjustment section 22, a first transmitting section 23, a second receiving section 24, a second transmitting section 25, A mixing amount determining section 26 is provided. For each of these configurations, an electronic circuit or a processor such as a DSP can be used.

The first receiving unit 21 receives audio data transmitted from the base device 4. Although details will be described later, this audio data is obtained by further mixing mixed audio information generated by mixing in a plurality of signal processing units 32 of the main device 3.

The volume adjustment unit 22 is provided after the first reception unit 21 and adjusts the volume of the mixed audio information input from the first reception unit 21 according to the setting of the main volume M. The first transmitting unit 23 is provided after the volume adjusting unit 22, and transmits the mixed audio information whose volume has been adjusted in the volume adjusting unit 22 to the headset H (see FIG. 1) attached to the handset 2. Send.

The second receiving unit 24 receives the voice emitted by the user into the headset H attached to the handset 2 as voice data. The second transmitter 25 is provided after the second receiver 24 and transmits this audio data to the headset H attached to the handset 2 and the main device 3. That is, the user of handset 2 can listen to his own voice with almost no delay. Note that the audio data and the mixing amount information MS (described later) are transmitted from the handset 2 to the main device 3 via the base device 4, but in order to make the data route easier to understand, it will not be shown in the following explanations or figures. Not particularly indicated.

The mixing amount determining section 26 includes a mixing amount information generating section 261 and a mixing amount information transmitting section 262. The mixing amount information generating section 261 generates mixing amount information MS according to the setting of the secondary volume S. The mixing amount information MS determines the mixing ratio of the two systems of audio data. Specifically, the amount of mixing of the audio data transmitted from the external audio device 5 or another slave device 2b to the main device 3, which will be described later, with respect to the audio data transmitted from the slave device 2a to the main device 3 is determined. The mixing amount information transmitting section 262 transmits the mixing amount information MS generated by the mixing amount information generating section 261 to the main device 3. Note that once the mixing amount information MS of this embodiment is transmitted, it is not generated or transmitted unless the setting of the secondary volume S is changed.

[3. Main device]
As shown in FIG. 4, the main device 3 includes a plurality of receiving sections 31, a plurality of signal processing sections 32 each including a mixing amount adjustment section 321 and a first mixing section 322, and a second mixing section 33. , an output section 34 , and a transmission command section 35 . For each of these configurations, an electronic circuit or a processor such as a DSP can be used.

The number of receiving units 31 and signal processing units 32 at least corresponds to the number of slave units 2. In this embodiment, the number of receiving sections 31 and signal processing sections 32 provided in the main device 3 is equal to the number of slave devices 2. The receiving section 31 that receives audio data from the handset 2a as main audio information is called a receiving section 31a, and the signal processing section 32 that performs signal processing on the main audio information and sub-audio information to be described later is called a signal processing section 32a.

The main audio information for the handset 2a is, for example, audio data transmitted and received between the handsets 2a, 2p, and 2q in group 1 to which the handsets 2a, 2p, and 2q belong, and is the audio data sent and received from the handset 2a to the receiving unit 31a. This is the audio data to be transmitted. This audio data is subjected to signal processing in the signal processing section 32a, and is transmitted to the slave devices 2p and 2q via the base device 4. In addition, audio data that is transmitted from the slave units 2p and 2q to the receiver units 31p and 31q, respectively, and subjected to signal processing in the signal processing units 32p and 32q, and then transmitted to the slave unit 2a via the base unit 4 is also , is the main audio information for the handset 2a.

Sub-audio information for the handset 2a is, for example, audio data transmitted from the external audio device 5 to the receiving unit 31a, or transmitted and received between other handsets 2b, 2x, and 2y belonging to group 2 to which the handset 2a does not belong. This is, for example, audio data transmitted from another handset 2b to the receiving unit 31a. The external audio device 5 transmits audio data to the wireless system 1 and is not included in the wireless system 1. The external audio device 5 is, for example, an audio adjustment console or a wired intercom. The audio data transmitted by the external audio device 5 includes, for example, instructions regarding the progress of the program.

The sub-audio information will be explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b). Note that in FIGS. 5A and 5B, only the main components among the above-mentioned configurations are shown. First, FIG. 5(a) shows a case where audio data from the external audio device 5 becomes sub audio information. In this case, the sub-audio information for the handset 2a is audio data transmitted from the external audio device 5 to the receiving section 31a, and after being signal-processed in the signal processing section 32a, This is audio data sent to the device 2a.

Next, FIG. 5(b) shows a case where audio data from another handset 2 belonging to a group different from the handset 2a becomes sub-sound information. In this case, the sub-audio information for the handset 2a is, for example, audio data transmitted from another handset 2b to the receiving unit 31a, and is signal-processed in the signal processing unit 32a and then transmitted via the base unit 4. This is audio data that is transmitted to the handset 2a. Furthermore, audio data transmitted from other handsets 2x and 2y belonging to group 2 different from handset 2a to receiving unit 31a can also serve as sub-audio information for handset 2a.

The receiving unit 31a receives the audio data from the second transmitting unit 25 of the handset 2a and the mixing amount information MS from the mixing amount information transmitting unit 262 of the handset 2a. Furthermore, the receiving section 31a also receives audio data from the external audio device 5 or the second transmitting section 25 of the other handset 2b. However, in the following explanation, audio data from the handset 2a will be referred to as main audio information, audio data from the external audio device 5 will be referred to as sub-audio information, and audio data from another handset 2b will be referred to as sub-audio information. The explanation will be omitted.

The signal processing unit 32 is provided after the receiving unit 31 and performs signal processing on the two systems of audio data received by the receiving unit 31.

The mixing amount adjustment section 321 included in the signal processing section 32 adjusts the mixing amount of the sub audio information with respect to the main audio information based on the mixing amount information MS. The ratio of mixing amounts of these two systems of audio data is equal to the ratio of their volumes. This volume ratio remains unchanged before and after the mixed audio data is transmitted from the main device 3 to the slave device 2 and the volume is adjusted by the volume adjustment section 22. Further, the mixing amount adjustment unit 321 adjusts the mixing amount of the sub audio information with respect to the main audio information based on the latest mixing amount information MS. That is, the mixing amount once adjusted remains unchanged until the mixing amount information MS is newly transmitted.

The first mixing unit 322 included in the signal processing unit 32 mixes the main audio information and the sub audio information whose mixing amount has been adjusted by the mixing amount adjustment unit 321 to generate mixed audio information.

The second mixing section 33 is provided after the plurality of signal processing sections 32 and mixes the plurality of mixed audio information generated by the plurality of signal processing sections 32, respectively. At this time, the mixed audio information mixed by the second mixing section 33 differs depending on the slave unit 2 as the transmission destination. For example, mixed audio information including audio data from the user of handset 2a is not transmitted to handset 2a. This is because it is difficult for the user of the handset 2a to talk while listening to his own voice, which is heard with a delay. That is, this mixed audio information is transmitted to handsets 2p and 2q that belong to the same group 1 as handset 2a. In this way, the mixed audio information mixed by the mixing unit 33 is different between the handset 2 that has transmitted the audio data as the main audio information and the handset 2 that belongs to the same group.

The output unit 34 is provided after the second mixing unit 33 and outputs the audio data mixed with the plurality of pieces of mixed audio information in the second mixing unit 33 to the base unit 4. The transmission command unit 35 instructs the base unit 4 to transmit the audio data outputted to the base unit 4 by the output unit 34 to the plurality of slave units 2. The output unit 34 and the transmission command unit 35 are connected to the base unit 4 via a wire such as a LAN cable.

[4. Base unit]
The base unit 4 transmits the audio data input from the output unit 34 to the plurality of slave units 2 according to a command from the transmission command unit 35 . It is preferable that the number of base units 4 is equal to the number of groups to which the plurality of slave units 2 belong. Further, the number of handsets 2 that one base unit 4 can transmit to at one time is, for example, ten. The base device 4 includes an electronic circuit and a processor such as a DSP.

[Effect]
The operation of the wireless system 1 in this embodiment will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6. First, as shown in FIG. 3, the second receiving unit 24 of the handset 2a receives the voice emitted by the user as audio data via the headset H attached to the handset 2a. The second transmitter 25 transmits this audio data input from the second receiver 24 to the main device 3 (step S01). Note that this audio data is the main audio information for the handset 2a.

Next, the mixing amount information generating section 261 of the mixing amount determining section 26 generates mixing amount information MS according to the setting of the secondary volume S. The secondary volume S may be set in advance to an initial value, or may be set to a value operated by the user. This determines the mixing amount information MS generated by the mixing amount information generating section 261. The mixing amount information transmitting section 262 transmits the mixing amount information MS generated by the mixing amount information generating section 261 to the main device 3 (step S02).

Further, the external audio device 5 transmits the audio data generated in the external audio device 5 to the main device 3 (step S03). Note that this audio data is sub-audio information for the handset 2a.

The above steps S01 to S03 may be performed in any order. For example, steps S02, S03, and S01 can be performed in the order.

After steps S01 to S03, as shown in FIG. 4, the receiving unit 31a of the main device 3 receives the main audio information and mixing amount information MS from the slave unit 2a, and receives the sub audio information from the external audio device 5. The mixing amount adjusting section 321 of the signal processing section 32a adjusts the mixing amount of the sub audio information with respect to the main audio information based on the mixing amount information MS received by the receiving section 31a (step S04). The first mixing unit 322 mixes the main audio information and the sub audio information whose mixing amount has been adjusted by the mixing amount adjustment unit 321 to generate mixed audio information (step S05).

After step S05, the second mixing unit 33 mixes the plurality of pieces of mixed audio information respectively generated by the plurality of signal processing units 32 (step S06). The output unit 34 outputs the audio data obtained by mixing the plural pieces of mixed audio information in the second mixing unit 33 to the base device 4 (step S07). The base unit 4 transmits the audio data input from the output unit 34 to the plurality of slave units 2 according to a command from the transmission command unit 35 (step S08). Note that, as described above, this audio data including audio data from the handset 2a as main audio information is not transmitted to the handset 2a. Therefore, the following steps will be explained assuming that audio data including audio data from the handset 2p as main audio information is transmitted to the handset 2a through steps S01 to S08.

After step S08, the first receiving unit 21 of the handset 2a receives the audio data mixed by the second mixing unit 33 from the base unit 4. Finally, the volume adjustment section 22 of the handset 2a adjusts the volume of the mixed audio information input from the first reception section 21 according to the setting of the main volume M (step S09). The main volume M is set in advance to an initial value, and in this embodiment, the initial value is set to 0 (silence). The first transmitter 23 transmits the mixed audio information whose volume has been adjusted by the volume adjuster 22 to the headset H attached to the handset 2a. Note that the headset H separately outputs main audio information and sub audio information from the mixed audio information using a signal processing unit and an output unit (not shown). Thereby, the user of handset 2a listens to two systems of audio simultaneously.

[effect]
(1) The wireless system 1 of this embodiment includes a main volume M and a sub-volume S provided in the slave device 2, a volume adjustment section 22 and a mixing amount determining section 26 provided in the slave device 2, and a main device 3. The mixing amount adjusting section 321 and the first mixing section 322 are provided. Thereby, if the volume ratio of the main audio information and the sub audio information is appropriate, the volume of the two systems of audio data can be adjusted at once by simply operating the main volume M. On the other hand, if it is difficult to hear only one of the main audio information and the sub audio information, you can adjust the volume ratio of the main audio information and the sub audio information by operating the sub volume S. I can hear audio information clearly. In this way, by operating the two volumes M and S, the overall volume and mixing amount can be freely adjusted.

In addition, since the upper and lower limits of the volume that can be adjusted depend on the slave unit 2, when adjusting the volume on the main device, the volume information from the slave unit 2 may exceed the upper and lower limits, and the volume cannot be adjusted. There is no risk that the subsequent audio will be distorted. In this way, the volume can be adjusted by the handset 2 alone without distorting the audio data without changing the upper and lower limits defined for the entire wireless system.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b), the main device in the conventional wireless system receives audio data of the voice emitted by the user from one slave unit and two volume information, that is, the voice It was necessary to receive volume information VA related to data and volume information VB related to audio data from an external audio device or another handset. The main device must also adjust the volume. In this case, as the number of slave devices connected to the main device increases, the load on the main device increases. However, the main device 3 of the wireless system 1 of this embodiment only needs to receive the audio data of the voice uttered by the user and one piece of mixing amount information MS from the handset 2. Moreover, since this mixing amount information MS is for adjusting the volume of sub-audio information whose volume is adjusted less frequently than main audio information, it is also received relatively infrequently. Moreover, the main device 3 does not need to adjust the volume, but only needs to mix two systems of audio data based on the mixing amount information MS. As a result, even if the number of slave devices 2 connected to the main device 3 increases, the burden on the main device 3 is small, so that the resources of the main device 3 can be used for multifunctionalization and speeding up.

In addition, in the wireless system 1 of this embodiment, the slave device 2 adjusts the volume instead of transmitting the volume information VA and VB to the main device by wireless communication as in the conventional technology. As a result, there is naturally no need to thin out the volume information data in order to reduce the load on the main device and eliminate large delays, so the linearity of volume changes related to volume adjustment is not lost.

(2) The wireless system 1 of this embodiment further includes a second mixing section 33 provided in the main device 3. Thereby, by further mixing the plurality of mixed audio information mixed by the plurality of first mixing units 322, it is possible to transmit the plurality of mixed audio information at once.

[Other embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and in the implementation stage, the components can be modified and embodied without departing from the spirit of the invention. Moreover, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining the plurality of components disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments. Specifically, the following other embodiments are also included.

(1) The wireless system 1 of the above embodiment includes six slave units 2a, 2b, 2p, 2q, 2x, 2y, one main unit 3, and two base units 4a, 4b. The number of devices 2, main devices 3, and base devices 4 is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the present invention can also be applied to a large-scale wireless system including 60 slave units 2, one main unit 3, and 16 base units 4. It is. In this wireless system, one main device 3 includes 60 sets of receiving sections 31 and signal processing sections 32. Further, it is assumed that all of the sub-audio information for the plurality of handsets 2 is audio data from the external audio device 5. In such a wireless system where a large number of slave units 2 are installed, the main unit 3 is required to have high calculation performance, but since the information transmitted from each slave unit 2 is relatively small, the burden on the main unit 3 is reduced. The effect of reducing it is more pronounced.

(2) In the wireless system 1 of the above embodiment, the mixing amount of the sub audio information is adjusted with respect to the main audio information, but the mixing amount of the main audio information may be adjusted with respect to the sub audio information.

(3) In the wireless system 1 of the above embodiment, sub-audio information for the handset 2 of group 1 is audio data transmitted and received between other handsets 2 belonging to different groups 2, but It may also be audio data transmitted and received between handsets 2 belonging to the same group. For example, the user of handset 2a can listen to audio data transmitted from handset 2q as sub-audio information while listening to audio data from handset 2p as main audio information.

(4) Although one main device 3 is provided in the above embodiment, a plurality of main devices 3 may be provided. In this case, a mixing section may be further provided after the plurality of main devices 3.

(5) Although the main device 3 of the above embodiment includes the number of receiving units 31 and signal processing units 32 corresponding to the number of slave units 2, one set of receiving units 31 is provided for a plurality of slave units 2. and a signal processing section 32. For example, this is suitable when the number of slave devices 2 connected to the main device 3 is relatively small.

(6) Although the configurations of the above embodiments are connected by wire or wirelessly, they may all be connected wirelessly.

1... Wireless system 2... Handset 21... First receiving section 22... Volume adjusting section 23... First transmitting section 24... Second receiving section 25... Second transmitting section 26... Mixing amount determining section 261... Mixing Amount information generating section 262...Mixing amount information transmitting section 3...Main device 31...Receiving section 32...Signal processing section 321...Mixing amount adjusting section 322...First mixing section 33...Second mixing section 34...Output section 35... Transmission command unit 4...Base unit 5...External audio device

Claims (2)

A wireless system comprising a plurality of slave units provided with a main volume and a sub-volume, a main unit that outputs mixed audio information, and a base unit that transmits the mixed audio information to the slave units. ,
The slave device is
a transmitter that transmits the audio input to the slave device as main audio information to the main device;
a mixing amount determining unit that generates mixing amount information according to the setting of the secondary volume and transmits the mixing amount information to the main device;
a volume adjustment unit that adjusts the volume of the mixed audio information according to the main volume setting;
The main device is
a mixing amount adjustment unit that adjusts a mixing ratio of the main audio information and sub audio information received from an external audio device or another handset according to the mixing amount information;
a mixing unit that mixes the main audio information and the sub audio information based on the mixing ratio to produce the mixed audio information;
an output unit that outputs the mixed audio information to the parent device;
a mixing unit that includes a plurality of sets of the mixing amount adjustment unit and the mixing unit, and mixes the plurality of pieces of mixed audio information that have been mixed by the plurality of sets of the mixing amount adjustment unit and the mixing unit, respectively;
wireless system. A main device constituting the wireless system according to claim 1 ,
a mixing amount adjustment unit that adjusts a mixing ratio of the main audio information and sub audio information received from an external audio device or another handset according to the mixing amount information;
a mixing unit that mixes the main audio information and the sub audio information based on the mixing ratio to produce the mixed audio information;
an output unit that outputs the mixed audio information to the parent device;
A main device including a plurality of sets of the mixing amount adjustment section and the mixing section, and a mixing section that mixes the plurality of mixed audio information mixed by the plurality of sets of the mixing amount adjustment section and the mixing section, respectively. .

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