JP7443877B2 - Audio output control device, audio output system, audio output control method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an audio output control device, an audio output system, an audio output control method, and a program.

2. Description of the Related Art Techniques for outputting audio in addition to displaying content on a display screen, such as electronic books and games that can output audio, are known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP2016-192211A

However, when such a device is used, for example, while riding on public transportation, it may be difficult to hear surrounding sounds such as in-car announcements.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to enable appropriate confirmation of surrounding sounds.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objects, an audio output control device according to the present invention includes an ambient sound acquisition unit that acquires ambient sound, and a peripheral sound acquisition unit that acquires ambient sound based on the ambient sound acquired by the ambient sound acquisition unit. an ambient sound reduction processing unit that performs processing to reduce the noise; an orientation detection unit that detects the orientation of the user's face; , outputting the sound with the ambient sound reduced by the ambient sound reduction processing section, and when the state of the user's face changes from the first state to the second state, the ambient sound produced by the ambient sound reduction processing section is output. and an audio output control unit that sets the state in which surrounding sounds are easier to hear than in a state in which ambient sounds are reduced.

The audio output system according to the present invention includes the audio output control device described above, a sound collection unit that collects ambient sound, and an audio output unit that outputs audio.

The audio output control method according to the present invention includes a step of acquiring ambient sound, a step of detecting the state of the face orientation of the user using the audio output device, and a step of detecting the state of the face orientation of the user using the audio output device. If the user's face orientation state changes from the first state to the second state, output the sound with reduced ambient sound based on the acquired ambient sound, and if the state of the user's face changes from the first state to the second state, reduce the surrounding sound. and a step of setting the state so that surrounding sounds can be easily heard.

A program according to the present invention includes a step of acquiring ambient sound, a step of detecting a state of the face direction of a user using an audio output device, and a state of the face direction of the user is a first state. If the state of the user's face changes from the first state to the second state, a sound with reduced ambient sound is output based on the acquired surrounding sound, and when the state of the user's face changes from the first state to the second state, the sound is output with reduced ambient sound. To cause a computer to perform the steps of bringing ambient sounds into a state where it is easy to hear.

According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately confirm surrounding sounds.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an audio output device as an audio output system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the orientation of the audio output device. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the orientation of the audio output device. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing in the audio output system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing another example of the flow of processing in the audio output system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an audio output system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an audio output system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an audio output system according to the third embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing in the audio output system according to the third embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an audio output system 1 according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[First embodiment]
<Audio output system>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an audio output device 10 as an audio output system 1 according to the first embodiment. The audio output device is, for example, headphones 10. In this embodiment, the audio output system 1 is composed of a single headphone 10 .

<Headphones>
The headphones 10 output audio and cancel surrounding audio noise. The headphones 10 are, for example, of an overhead type and are worn on the user's head. Headphones 10 output audio based on audio data output from audio output control device 20 . The headphones 10 can cancel surrounding noise based on a control signal output from the audio output control device 20. The headphones 10 have a built-in audio output control device 20. The headphones 10 include a left audio output section 11 , a right audio output section 12 , an audio input section 13 , a left microphone 14 , a right microphone 15 , a sensor 16 , and an audio output control device 20 .

The left audio output unit 11 is an audio output unit for the left ear. The left audio output unit 11 has a housing that covers the left ear. The left audio output unit 11 outputs audio to be viewed in the left ear. The left audio output unit 11 acquires audio data from the audio output control device 20. The left audio output unit 11 outputs left channel data of audio data. The left audio output section 11 converts the electrical signal obtained by D/A converting the left channel data of the audio data into sound and outputs the sound.

The right audio output unit 12 is an audio output unit for the right ear. The right audio output unit 12 outputs audio to be viewed in the right ear. The right audio output unit 12 acquires audio data from the audio output control device 20. The right audio output unit 12 outputs right channel data of audio data. The right audio output unit 12 converts the electrical signal obtained by D/A converting the right channel data of the audio data into sound and outputs the sound.

The audio input unit 13 receives audio data of content such as music or video, for example. For example, audio data stored in a storage unit (not shown) may be input to the audio input unit 13. The audio input unit 13 may receive audio data via wire or wirelessly from an electronic device (not shown) such as an electronic book terminal, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a portable music playback device, and a portable game machine.

The left microphone 14 is arranged in the casing of the left audio output section 11. The left microphone 14 acquires surrounding sounds. Ambient sounds are environmental sounds including, for example, third party voices and vehicle noises. The left microphone 14 outputs the acquired audio to the surrounding sound acquisition section 24.

The right microphone 15 is arranged in the casing of the right audio output section 12. The right microphone 15 acquires surrounding sounds. The right microphone 15 outputs the acquired audio to the surrounding sound acquisition section 24.

The sensor 16 detects the attitude of the headphones 10, in other words, the orientation of the headphones 10. In other words, the sensor 16 detects the direction of the face of the user wearing the headphones 10. The sensor 16 detects the attitude of the headphones 10 using various sensors such as a three-axis acceleration sensor. Any known method may be used to calculate the posture from various sensors. The sensor 16 outputs the detection result to the orientation detection section 21 . It is preferable that the sensors 16 are arranged in the casing of the left audio output section 11 and the casing of the right audio output section 12, respectively. Thereby, the attitude of the headphones 10 can be detected with high accuracy.

<Audio output control device>
The audio output control device 20 outputs audio from the headphones 10 and cancels surrounding noise. Depending on the orientation of the user's face, the audio output control device 20 outputs audio with reduced ambient sounds, or puts the ambient sounds in a state where it is easier to hear than in a state where ambient sounds are reduced. The audio output control device 20 is, for example, an arithmetic processing device (control unit) including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an audio processing processor. The audio output control device 20 loads a program stored in a storage unit (not shown) into memory and executes instructions included in the program. The audio output control device 20 includes an orientation detection section 21, an audio processing section 22, and a storage section that is an internal memory. The audio processing section 22 includes an audio acquisition section 23 , an ambient sound acquisition section 24 , an ambient sound reduction processing section 25 , and an audio output control section 26 . The audio output control device 20 may be composed of one or more devices.

The orientation detection unit 21 detects the attitude of the headphones 10, in other words, the orientation of the headphones 10 from the detection result of the sensor 16. Thereby, the orientation detection unit 21 detects the orientation of the face of the user wearing the headphones 10. More specifically, the orientation detection unit 21 detects that the orientation of the user's face is in the first state, and that the orientation of the user's face is in the second state different from the first state. The orientation detection unit 21 detects, for example, that the user's face is facing downward, or that the user's face is not facing downward. The orientation detection unit 21 can detect, for example, that the acceleration caused by a change in the orientation of the user's face is smaller than a threshold value, and that the acceleration caused by a change in the orientation of the user's face is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

When the orientation of the user's face changes from the first state to the second state, there is a high possibility that the user's attention has turned to the surroundings, such as when the user looks around. If the orientation of the user's face changes from facing downward to not facing downward, there is a high possibility that the user's attention has turned to the surroundings, such as by raising the user's head to check the surroundings. If the acceleration caused by the change in the orientation of the user's face is equal to or greater than the threshold value, this indicates that the user has suddenly changed the orientation of the user's face, and there is a high possibility that the user's attention has turned to the surroundings. In this way, when there is a high possibility that the user's attention has turned to the surroundings, it is preferable to turn off the noise canceling function that reduces the surrounding sounds to make it easier to hear the surrounding sounds.

2 and 3 are schematic diagrams showing the orientation of the headphones when the user is wearing the headband 101 of the headphones 10 over the top of the user's head. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the posture of the headphones 10 when viewed from the side, specifically, from the right side of the right audio output unit 12 in the right side when the user is wearing the headphones 10. In this case, the face of the user wearing the headphones 10 is facing in the +Y direction, not downward but forward. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the posture of the headphones 10 when viewed from the lateral direction, specifically, from the right lateral direction when the user is wearing the headphones 10, similar to FIG. In this case, the face of the user wearing the headphones 10 faces downward, which is the +Y direction.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the orientation of the face of the user wearing the headphones 10 is defined by the inclination of the headphones 10 in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction with respect to the direction in which the gravitational acceleration G is detected. When the user wearing the headphones 10 changes from facing straight ahead to facing downward, the posture of the headphones 10 changes from the state shown in FIG. 2 to the state shown in FIG. 3.

For example, when the headphones 10 are worn on the user's head, it is determined from the angle of the headphones 10 whether the user's face is facing downward. For example, as in the state shown in Figure 2, when the direction in which gravitational acceleration G is detected is within ±20 degrees from the -Z direction, the user's face is not facing downward but facing forward. It is determined that Further, as in the state shown in FIG. 3, when the direction in which the gravitational acceleration G is detected is ±20 degrees or more from −Z, it is determined that the user's face is facing downward. Note that the vector is not limited to the Z-axis, and the Y-axis or a composite vector of the Z-axis and the Y-axis may be used.

Whether the headphones 10 are worn on the user's head can be determined based on the detection result of the sensor 16. If the detection result of the sensor 16 in the X-axis direction indicates almost horizontal, and gravitational acceleration is not detected within, for example, ±10 degrees from the +Y-axis direction or the -Y-axis direction, the headphones 10 are worn on the user's head. It is determined that Furthermore, other sensors may be used that detect, for example, the degree of opening of the headband 101 or the pressure on the ear pads.

The audio acquisition unit 23 acquires audio data from the audio input unit 13 to be output from the left audio output unit 11 and the right audio output unit 12.

The surrounding sound acquisition unit 24 obtains surrounding sounds from the left microphone 14 and the right microphone 15.

The surrounding sound reduction processing section 25 performs noise cancellation of the surrounding sound based on the surrounding sound acquired by the surrounding sound acquisition section 24 to reduce the surrounding sound. As a noise cancellation method, a known method can be applied, and a signal obtained by inverting the phase of the surrounding sound is synthesized with the audio data acquired by the audio input section 13, and the synthesized signal is output to the audio output control section 26.

The audio output control unit 26 performs control to output audio data as sound from the headphones 10. More specifically, the audio output control section 26 causes the left audio output section 11 to output a signal obtained by D/A converting and amplifying the left channel data of the audio data. The audio output control section 26 causes the right audio output section 12 to output a signal obtained by D/A converting and amplifying the right channel data of the audio data.

When the orientation detection unit 21 detects that the orientation of the user's face is in the first state, the audio output control unit 26 outputs audio in which the ambient sound has been reduced by the ambient sound reduction processing unit 25, When the first state changes to the second state, the surrounding sound is more audible than the state where the surrounding sound is reduced by the surrounding sound reduction processing unit 25.

When the user's face is facing downward, the audio output control unit 26 outputs the sound in which the surrounding sound has been reduced by the surrounding sound reduction processing unit 25, and when the user's face is facing downward. When the state changes from the state in which the user is facing downwards to the state in which the user is not looking downward, the state in which the surrounding sounds are more audible than in the state in which the surrounding sounds are reduced by the surrounding sound reduction processing unit 25 is set.

When the acceleration caused by the change in the user's face direction is smaller than the threshold, the sound output control unit 26 outputs the sound with the surrounding sound reduced by the surrounding sound reduction processing unit 25, and changes the direction of the user's face. When the acceleration caused by the change changes to a state where it is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the state is set such that the surrounding sound is easier to hear than the state where the surrounding sound is reduced by the surrounding sound reduction processing unit 25.

The audio output control section 26 may not perform the ambient sound reduction process by the ambient sound reduction processing section 25, as the ambient sound is more audible than the state in which the ambient sound is reduced by the ambient sound reduction processing section 25. In this case, the audio output control unit 26 turns off noise cancellation. This makes it easier for the user wearing the headphones 10 to hear surrounding sounds.

The audio output control unit 26 does not perform the ambient sound reduction process by the ambient sound reduction processing unit 25, and the surrounding sound acquisition unit 24 assumes that the ambient sound is easier to hear than the state in which the ambient sound is reduced by the ambient sound reduction processing unit 25. The surrounding sounds acquired by the user may be output from the left audio output section 11 and the right audio output section 12. This allows the user wearing the headphones 10 to hear surrounding sounds from the left audio output section 11 and the right audio output section 12.

Next, information processing in the headphones 10 will be explained using FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing in the audio output system 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing another example of the flow of processing in the audio output system 1 according to the first embodiment. For example, when the headphones 10 are turned on, when the headphones 10 are worn on the user's head, when the headphones 10 are equipped with a function to output the audio of the content, the headphones 10 start outputting audio. 4 and 5 are executed, or when an operation to start the audio output control process is performed. Furthermore, it is assumed that the noise canceling process is being performed when the processes in the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are started.

First, the processing shown in FIG. 4 will be explained. The audio output control device 20 determines whether the state of the user's face has changed (step S101). More specifically, the orientation detection unit 21 detects the orientation of the headphones 10, in other words, the orientation of the headphones 10 from the detection result of the sensor 16, and determines whether the orientation of the headphones 10 has changed. If the orientation detection unit 21 determines that there has been a change in the orientation of the user's face (Yes in step S101), the process advances to step S102. If the orientation detection unit 21 does not determine that there has been a change in the orientation of the user's face (No in step S101), the process advances to step S104. The presence or absence of a change in the state of the user's face orientation determined in step S101 means that the user's face orientation has changed by, for example, 10 degrees or more in at least one of the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, or Z-axis direction. If so, it is determined that there has been a change in the orientation of the user's face. Alternatively, the presence or absence of a change in the state of the user's face direction determined in step S101 means that the state of the user's face direction changes if the acceleration when the user's face direction changes is equal to or greater than a threshold value. It is determined that there was. The threshold value in this case is a threshold value that detects the acceleration that occurs when the user's face suddenly turns in a different direction.

When determining that there has been a change in the state of the user's face orientation (Yes in step S101), the audio output control device 20 determines that the change in the state of the user's face orientation detected in step S101 has changed from the first state. It is determined whether the change is to the second state (step S102). More specifically, the audio output control unit 26 changes the state of the user's face orientation detected in step S101 from a first state in which the user's face is facing downward to a state in which the user's face is facing downward. It is determined whether the change is to the second state where there is no state. Alternatively, the audio output control unit 26 changes the state of the user's face orientation detected in step S101 from a first state in which the acceleration caused by the change in the user's face orientation is smaller than the threshold value. It is determined whether the acceleration caused by the change in is a change to the second state where the acceleration is greater than a threshold value.

When determining that the change in the state of the user's face orientation is from the first state to the second state (Yes in step S102), the audio output control device 20 proceeds to step S103. If it is not determined that the change in the state of the user's face orientation is a change from the first state to the second state (No in step S102), the audio output control device 20 proceeds to step S104.

When determining that the change in the state of the user's face orientation is from the first state to the second state (Yes in step S102), the audio output control device 20 turns off noise cancellation (step S103). ). More specifically, the audio output control unit 26 turns off noise cancellation by the ambient sound reduction processing unit 25. Note that the audio output control section 26 may output the audio of the content from the left audio output section 11 and the right audio output section 12. In this state, the audio of the content is output from the left audio output unit 11 and the right audio output unit 12, with surrounding audio being easily audible. The audio output control device 20 proceeds to step S104.

The audio output control device 20 determines whether to end the use of the headphones 10 (step S104). For example, when the headphones 10 are powered off, when the headphones 10 are removed from the user's head, when audio output from the headphones 10 is stopped, or when an operation to end audio output control processing is performed etc., it is determined that the use is to be terminated (Yes in step S104), and the process is terminated. If the above does not apply, the audio output control device 20 does not determine to end the use (No in step S104) and proceeds to step S105.

If the audio output control device 20 does not determine to end the use (No in step S104), it determines whether a predetermined period of time has elapsed (step S105). More specifically, the audio output control unit 26 determines whether a preset period of about 30 seconds to 1 minute has elapsed since the noise cancellation was turned off in step S103. The predetermined period in this case is an appropriate period for the user to check surrounding sounds. If the audio output control unit 26 does not determine that the predetermined period has elapsed (No in step S105), the determination in step S105 is performed again, and if it determines that the predetermined period has elapsed (Yes in step S105), the process proceeds to step S106.

If it is determined in step S105 that the predetermined period has elapsed (Yes in step S105), the audio output control device 20 turns on noise cancellation (step S106), and proceeds to step S101.

Next, the processing shown in FIG. 5 will be explained. Steps S111, S112, S114, and S115 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 perform the same processing as steps S101 , S102, S104, and S105 in the flowchart shown in FIG.

If it is determined that the state of the user's face direction has changed from the first state to the second state (Yes in step S112), the audio output control device 20 turns off noise cancellation and outputs the surrounding sound. (Step S113). More specifically, the audio output control unit 26 turns off noise cancellation by the ambient sound reduction processing unit 25 and outputs the ambient sound acquired by the ambient sound acquisition unit 24 from the left audio output unit 11 and the right audio output unit 12. do. Note that the audio output control section 26 may output the audio of the content from the left audio output section 11 and the right audio output section 12. In this state, surrounding sounds are outputted from the left audio output section 11 and the right audio output section 12 together with the audio of the content so that the surrounding sounds can be easily heard. The audio output control device 20 proceeds to step S114.

If it is determined in step S115 that the predetermined period of time has elapsed (Yes in step S115), the audio output control device 20 turns on noise cancellation and stops outputting ambient sounds (step S116), and proceeds to step S111. .

In this way, when the state of the face direction of the user wearing the headphones 10 changes from the first state to the second state, the user's face direction changes from facing downward to not facing downward. If the state changes, or if the acceleration caused by a change in the orientation of the user's face is equal to or greater than the threshold, the state is set in which the surrounding sounds are easier to hear than the state in which the surrounding sounds are reduced.

<Effect>
As described above, in this embodiment, when the state of the user's face changes from the first state to the second state, the user's face changes from the state facing downward to the state not facing downward. If the change occurs, or if the acceleration caused by the change in the direction of the user's face is equal to or greater than the threshold, the surrounding sound can be more audible than in a state where the surrounding sound is reduced. According to the present embodiment, when it is assumed that the user is paying attention to the surroundings, it is possible to appropriately confirm the surrounding sounds in a state where the surrounding sounds are noise-cancelled. In this way, according to the present embodiment, when the user wants to hear the surrounding sounds, the user can appropriately check the surrounding sounds.

In this embodiment, when the state of the user's face changes from the first state to the second state, when the user's face direction changes from the state facing downward to the state not facing downward, or , when the acceleration caused by a change in the user's face orientation is equal to or greater than a threshold, the surrounding sound is made easier to hear than when the surrounding sound is reduced. In all of these cases, there is a high possibility that the user's attention was directed to the surroundings. According to this embodiment, when there is a high possibility that the user's attention has turned to the surroundings, the noise canceling function can be turned off to make it easier to hear surrounding sounds.

In the present embodiment, the ambient sound reduction processing section 25 does not perform the ambient sound reduction processing, or the ambient sound acquisition section does not perform the ambient sound reduction processing, and the ambient sound acquisition section 24 outputs the acquired ambient sound from the left audio output section 11 and the right audio output section 12. According to this embodiment, surrounding sounds can be easily heard.

The case where the state of the user's face direction changes from the first state to the second state is, for example, a state where the user is sitting in a seat on a public transportation and facing downward while listening to music etc. through the headphones 10. A user looks up in order to know information such as stop stations from a public transportation system. By performing such an operation, the state of the user's face direction changes from the first state to the second state.

[Second embodiment]
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an audio output system 1A according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an audio output system 1A according to the second embodiment. The audio output system 1A includes a headphone 10A as an audio output device, and an electronic device 30A such as an electronic book terminal, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a portable music playback device, and a portable game machine. In other words, the audio output system 1A is a combination of headphones 10A as an audio output device and an electronic device 30A.

The headphones 10A are connected to the electronic device 30A so as to be able to transmit and receive data by wire or wirelessly. Headphone 10A outputs the audio signal output from electronic device 30A.

The electronic device 30A includes an audio input section 31A having the same function as the audio input section 13, and an audio output control device 40A having the same function as the audio output control device 20.

The configuration of the headphones 10A in FIG. 7 is equivalent to the configuration included in the configuration of the headphones 10 shown in FIG. Furthermore, in the configuration of the electronic device 30A in FIG. 7, with respect to the configuration included in the configuration of the headphones 10 shown in FIG. This corresponds to section 22. Similarly, the audio acquisition unit 43A corresponds to the audio acquisition unit 23, the ambient sound acquisition unit 44A corresponds to the ambient sound acquisition unit 24, the ambient sound reduction processing unit 45A corresponds to the ambient sound reduction processing unit 25, and the audio output The control section 46A corresponds to the audio output control section 26, and the direction detection section 41A corresponds to the direction detection section 21, so that they have the same configuration.

As described above, even when the headphones 10A as an audio output device and the electronic device 30A are combined as in this embodiment, surrounding sounds can be appropriately confirmed as in the first embodiment.

[Third embodiment]
The audio output system 1B according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an audio output system 1B according to the third embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing in the audio output system 1B according to the third embodiment. The basic configuration of the audio output system 1B is the same as the audio output system 1A of the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the electronic device 30B includes a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiving section 32B, a position information calculating section 47B, and a determining section 48B.

The GNSS receiving unit 32B includes a GNSS receiver that receives GNSS signals from GNSS satellites. The GNSS receiving section 32B outputs the received GNSS signal to the position information calculating section 47B.

The position information calculation unit 47B receives a GNSS signal from the GNSS reception unit 32B. The position information calculation unit 47B calculates current position information based on the GNSS signal. The position information calculation unit 47B and the GNSS reception unit 32B are not limited to GNSS signals, and may be compatible with other types of positioning satellite systems.

The determining unit 48B determines whether the user is using transportation. For example, based on the position information calculated by the position information calculation unit 47B, the determination unit 48B determines whether the current position of the user wearing the headphones 10 corresponds to the position information of a transportation facility in map information (not shown) or the movement history. It may be determined that the person is using transportation based on the person's travel rate or travel speed. The determination unit 48B is not limited to a method for determining whether the person is using transportation, and may use other methods such as using noise or vibrations around the headphones 10B, for example.

Next, information processing in the audio output system 1B will be explained using FIG. 9. Steps S122 to S124, S126, and S127 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 perform the same processing as steps S101 to S103, S105, and S106 in the flowchart shown in FIG.

The audio output control device 40B determines whether or not a means of transportation is being used (step S121). More specifically, based on the position information calculated by the position information calculation unit 47B, the determination unit 48B determines whether the user's current position corresponds to the position information of the transportation system in the map information, etc. It is determined that you are using . If the determining unit 48B determines that the user is using transportation (Yes in step S121), the process advances to step S122. If the determining unit 48B does not determine that the user is using transportation (No in step S121), the process ends.

In addition to determining whether to end the use of the headphones 10B or the electronic device 30B in step S125, the audio output control device 40B also determines whether to end the use of the transportation facility (step S125). More specifically, based on the position information calculated by the position information calculation unit 47B, the determination unit 48B determines whether the user's current location deviates from the position information of the transportation system in the map information, or when the user has finished using the transportation system. When it is detected that there is a vehicle, it is determined that the use of transportation is to be terminated. If the determination unit 48B determines that the use of the transportation facility is to be terminated (Yes in step S125), the process is terminated. If the determination unit 48B does not determine that the use of transportation is to be terminated (No in step S125), the process advances to step S126.

<Effect>
As described above, in the present embodiment, when the user wearing the headphones 10B is using transportation, and the direction of the user's face changes from the first state to the second state, the user's face is changed from the first state to the second state. If the orientation of the user's face changes from facing downward to not facing downward, or if the acceleration caused by the change in the user's face orientation is greater than or equal to the threshold, the Allows you to easily hear surrounding sounds. According to this embodiment, when a user wearing headphones 10B looks up to hear an announcement while using public transportation, it is possible to easily hear surrounding sounds such as announcements. According to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent noise cancellation from being turned off carelessly.

Each component of the illustrated audio output system 1 is functionally conceptual, and does not necessarily have to be physically configured as illustrated. In other words, the specific form of each device is not limited to what is shown in the diagram, and all or part of it may be functionally or physically distributed or integrated into arbitrary units depending on the processing load and usage status of each device. It's okay.

The configuration of the audio output system 1 is realized by, for example, a program loaded into a memory as software. The above embodiments have been described as functional blocks realized by cooperation of these hardware or software. That is, these functional blocks can be realized in various forms using only hardware, only software, or a combination thereof.

The components described above include those that can be easily imagined by those skilled in the art and that are substantially the same. Furthermore, the configurations described above can be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, or changes in the configuration are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention.

In the above, as examples of states in which surrounding sounds are easily audible, an example in which the surrounding sound reduction processing is not performed and an example in which the surrounding sound is output without performing the surrounding sound reduction processing are shown. As an example of a state in which surrounding sounds are easily audible, in addition to the above, the surrounding sound reduction level may be lowered, that is, the effect of the noise cancellation level may be reduced. Furthermore, as another example, ambient sound may be output while reducing the effect of the noise cancellation level. The process of lowering the ambient sound reduction level involves reversing the phases of the ambient sounds acquired from the left microphone 14 and the right microphone 15 and synthesizing a signal with a lower sound pressure level with the audio data acquired by the audio input unit 13. Then, the audio output controller 26 outputs the audio data.

In addition, in the above, the processing for making it easier to hear surrounding sounds was performed on the left audio output section 11 and the right audio output section 12, but when either the left audio output section 11 or the right audio output section 12 It may be done for one side. For example, the user may set the audio output unit used by the user's dominant ear to perform processing to make it easier to hear surrounding sounds.

Although the headphones 10 have been described above as an example of the audio output device, the present invention is not limited thereto. The audio output device may be, for example, an earphone or a neck-mounted speaker. The audio output device can also be applied to an electronic earplug device that does not include the audio input section 13 and has only a noise canceling function.

1 Audio output system 10 Headphones (audio output device)
11 Left audio output unit 12 Right audio output unit 13 Audio input unit 14 Left microphone 15 Right microphone 16 Sensor 20 Audio output control device 21 Direction detection unit 22 Audio processing unit 23 Audio acquisition unit 24 Ambient sound acquisition unit 25 Ambient sound reduction processing unit 26 Audio output control section

Claims (8)

an orientation detection unit that detects the state of the face of a user wearing the headphones using a sensor included in the headphones;
an ambient sound acquisition unit that acquires ambient sounds of the user from a microphone provided in the headphones ;
an ambient sound reduction processing unit that performs processing to reduce ambient sound with respect to the audio output of the headphones based on the ambient sound acquired by the ambient sound acquisition unit ;
a determination unit that determines that the user uses transportation;
When the user is using transportation, the direction detection section detects, if the state of the user's face direction is in the first state, the direction detection section outputs the sound in which the surrounding sound has been reduced by the surrounding sound reduction processing section. a sound that outputs a state in which when the state of the user's face direction changes from the first state to the second state, the surrounding sound is more audible than the state where the surrounding sound is reduced by the surrounding sound reduction processing unit; an output control section;
An audio output control device comprising: The first state is a state in which the user's face is facing downward,
The second state is a state in which the user's face is not facing downward.
The audio output control device according to claim 1. The first state is a state in which an acceleration caused by a change in the direction of the user's face is smaller than a threshold,
The second state is a state in which the acceleration caused by a change in the direction of the user's face is equal to or greater than a threshold.
The audio output control device according to claim 1. The audio output control unit does not perform the ambient sound reduction process by the ambient sound reduction processing unit as a state where the ambient sound is easier to hear than the state in which the ambient sound is reduced by the ambient sound reduction processing unit.
The audio output control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The audio output control unit does not perform the ambient sound reduction process by the ambient sound reduction processing unit as a state in which the ambient sound is easier to hear than the state in which the ambient sound is reduced by the ambient sound reduction processing unit,
outputting the ambient sound acquired by the ambient sound acquisition unit;
The audio output control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The audio output control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A sound collection unit that collects surrounding sounds;
an audio output section that outputs audio;
An audio output system equipped with. detecting the state of the face of the user wearing the headphones using a sensor included in the headphones;
obtaining ambient sounds of the user from a microphone included in the headphones;
determining that the user uses transportation;
When the user is using transportation and the user's face orientation is in the first state, the ambient sound is reduced with respect to the audio output of the headphones based on the acquired ambient sound. When audio is output and the state of the user's face changes from the first state to the second state, a state in which ambient sounds are easier to hear than in a state where ambient sounds are reduced relative to the audio output of the headphones. a step of
An audio output control method executed by an audio output control device, including: detecting the state of the face of the user wearing the headphones using a sensor included in the headphones;
obtaining ambient sounds of the user from a microphone included in the headphones;
determining that the user uses transportation;
When the user is using transportation and the user's face orientation is in the first state, the ambient sound is reduced with respect to the audio output of the headphones based on the acquired ambient sound. When audio is output and the state of the user's face changes from the first state to the second state, a state in which ambient sounds are easier to hear than in a state where ambient sounds are reduced relative to the audio output of the headphones. a step of
A program that a computer runs, including.

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