JPH03159399A - Microphone - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent an output sound from being distorted by the excess of a sound input by automatically controlling the gain of a microphone corresponding to the degree of tension or excitement for a person generating a voice while taking the microphone. CONSTITUTION:The degree of the tension for the person to use the microphone is detected by a pressure sensor 4 according to force to grasp a grip part 2 of the microphone and when the pressure becomes large, a sliding piece 8 of a variable resistor 5 is moved in a direction shown by B. Accordingly, since the output of a sound/electricity conversion part 3 is divided and outputted from an output cable 6, the level is lowered. On the other hand, when the pressure becomes small, the sliding piece is moved by a spring 7 against an alphabet A and the output of the microphone is increased. Thus, corresponding to the degree of the mental tension, etc., for the user, the gain is automatically controlled.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] Regarding microphones or microphones whose gain can be controlled under specific conditions, the gain of the microphone or the connected amplifier can be controlled under certain conditions. A means of detecting the intensity of external pressure applied to the grip of a microphone, or detecting the electrical resistance between electrodes provided on the surface, for the purpose of automatically controlling the gain of a microphone or amplifier when Means are provided, and the outputs of these means are configured to control the gain of the microphone or output as a signal for controlling the gain of an amplifier connected to the microphone.

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to the configuration of a microphone that is held and used by a person, and in particular, it can be used depending on the user's level of mental stress, etc.
The present invention relates to a microphone having a function of automatically adjusting gain.

[Background Art] A microphone is a device that converts emitted sound into an electrical signal corresponding to the sound.

Conventionally, various methods have been considered as means for converting audio into electrical signals.

One example is the carbon microphone used as a transmitter in a conventional telephone. this is,
The motion of a diaphragm vibrated by the sound is applied to the carbon grains filled in a small container, and the change in resistance caused by the change in the contact state of the carbon grains is used to convert the applied DC current into a sound current. It is intended to be changed to

Additionally, D-electronic microphones are also often used.

A moving coil microphone belongs to electrodynamic microphones.

This involves placing a coil in a magnetic field (permanent magnets are used) and moving the coil through a diaphragm that vibrates in response to the sound, thereby inducing a current in the coil in response to the input sound.

Yet another type of microphone is an electrostatic microphone. This is also called a condenser microphone, and it makes use of the fact that one of the opposing electrodes is vibrated in accordance with the vibration of the voice, thereby changing the capacitance between the electrodes.

These various microphones each have their own characteristics in terms of frequency characteristics, directional sensitivity, etc.
They are used depending on the purpose.

In addition, from a structural point of view, there are exceptions that are built into tape recorders etc. and do not clearly show their appearance, but the most commonly used ones are: Many of them are in the form of people holding them in their hands.

This is often done by adding 3. When the grip is engaged, a person holds the grip, brings the head close to the mouth, and makes a sound.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] Microphones are designed to satisfy desired conditions such as input sound volume, output sound signal level, directivity, factor characteristic, etc., depending on the environment in which the microphone is used. Designed and produced.

The output of the audio/electrical converter is then led out to the outside via a shielded cable or the like and connected to the human power terminal of the audio frequency band amplifier.

The audio frequency band amplifier amplifies the human power to the required level,
If it is for amplification, the power is amplified to drive the speaker.

In addition, if the microphone is of a wireless type, the carrier wave is modulated (for example, FM modulation) by the output of the audio/power conversion section, and the modulated carrier wave is sent out into space as an electromagnetic wave from the antenna section. After the signal is received and detected by a receiver, it is amplified by an audio broadband amplifier.

As mentioned above, microphones are designed and manufactured based on certain specifications depending on the purpose of use, but each person who uses a microphone has their own propensities, and even the same person may have problems due to stress or excitement, for example. The sound emitted is inconsistent and may become significantly louder or softer depending on the situation.

Normally, the output of a microphone is not that large, so a high gain audio frequency band amplifier is used to receive it, and the range of permissible human power levels is also limited. Therefore, if too much human effort is applied, non-linear distortion will occur in the amplifier circuit, impairing the fidelity of sound reproduction, and in extreme cases, the sound may appear distorted.

On the other hand, although audio frequency band amplifiers are equipped with manual audio adjusters that control the output according to the input, it is difficult to adjust them one by one.

In addition, some table recorders monitor the recording level and automatically adjust the gain of the amplifier to prevent it from exceeding a specified value, but this is the result of a large amount of human effort. It cannot be said that good control is necessarily achieved because the system detects and controls based on this information.

In view of these conventional problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a microphone that can automatically control the audio signal output level according to the level of tension or excitement of the person using the microphone. .

[Means for Solving the Problems] According to the present invention, the above objects are achieved by the means described in the claims.

That is, the invention of claim I includes means for detecting the intensity of pressure externally applied to the grip portion, and controlling the gain related to its own audio/electrical conversion according to the intensity of the pressure detected by the means. The invention of claim 2 is a microphone provided with means for providing electrodes at at least two locations on the surface of the grip portion, and means for detecting the magnitude of electrical resistance between the electrodes, and detecting the detected electrical resistance. A microphone is provided with means for controlling the gain related to its own audio/electrical conversion according to the magnitude of the microphone. The microphone is provided with means for outputting an information signal related to the strength of the pressure detected by the above means, and the invention according to claim 4 provides electrodes at at least two places on the surface of the grip part, and a microphone between the above electrodes. This microphone is provided with means for detecting electrical resistance and means for outputting an information signal related to the detected electrical resistance.

[Function] In the invention of claim 2, the gain of the microphone is controlled by detecting the degree of tension of the person using the microphone based on the force with which the microphone is gripped.

In other words, when people are usually nervous or excited,
There is a tendency to unconsciously grip things tightly.

The present invention detects the force with which such a person grips the grip of the microphone, and controls the gain of the microphone based on this.

In the second aspect of the invention, the degree of tension of the person using the microphone is detected by the sweating state of the palm of the hand, and the gain of the microphone is controlled based on this.

In other words, when people are usually nervous or excited,
As mentioned above, people often grip things tightly, but at the same time their palms often sweat a lot.

In this invention, electrodes are provided in the grip of the microphone, and the gain of the microphone is controlled by utilizing the fact that the electrical resistance value between the electrodes changes depending on the sweating state of the palm of the person holding the microphone.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the information signal related to the grip force detection result according to the first aspect of the present invention is output as is and used for controlling an amplifier or the like.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the information signal related to the detection result of the electric resistance value according to the second aspect of the present invention is outputted as it is and used for controlling an amplifier or the like.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention, in which a cross section of a microphone is depicted in a simplified manner, and corresponds to the invention of claim 1.

In the same figure (a), the microphone head part 2 is 3
．． A grip part, 3 is an audio/electric conversion part, 4 is a pressure sensor, 5
6 represents a variable resistor, and 6 represents an output cable.

Figure 1) is a diagram for explaining the relationship between pressure and a variable resistor. When pressure is applied in the direction of the arrow indicated by the alphabetic symbol A, the sliding piece 8 of the variable resistor 5 moves in the direction indicated by the alphabetic symbol B. Move to.

As a result, the output of the audio/electric converter 3 is divided and outputted from the output cable 6, so that its level is lowered. (Generally, when people are excited, they tend to make loud noises, so this control is done.) On the other hand, when the pressure becomes small, the spring 7 moves the microphone in the direction opposite to the letter 8, increasing the microphone output.

The above is an example, but various types of pressure sensors can be considered, and variable resistors include those in which a styder slides vertically on a cylindrical resistor, as well as those in a bellows shape with electrodes on both ends. There are various types of devices that can be considered, such as those that have a structure in which the resistance value changes directly when pressure is applied to a container filled with carbon grains or the like.

In addition, in this embodiment, the output of the audio/electrical converter is divided by a potentiometer. However, among the microphones based on the various principles described above, the audio/electrical converter is divided by the excitation power source. If this is required, it is also possible to adjust this and control the output itself of the audio/electrical converter.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and corresponds to the second embodiment of the invention.

In the figure, 1 to 3 are the same as in FIG. 1, 9 is a gain control circuit, 10. 10' represents an electrode, and 11 represents a resistance value detection circuit.

When using the microphone, if a person holds the grip 2, the two electrodes 10. 10' is covered with the palm of the hand, and the electrical resistance value between them is detected by the resistance value detection circuit 1l.The gain control circuit 9 is controlled by this detected electrical resistance value.

At this time, when a person becomes nervous or excited, the palm of the hand sweats, which reduces the resistance value between both electrodes 1010'.

When the resistance value detection circuit 11 detects this, it controls the gain control circuit 9 according to the degree of the change, and controls the output of the audio/electrical converter 3.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention, which corresponds to the third embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, the pressure/electrical signal converter 12 converts the pressure change received by the pressure sensor 4 into an electrical signal, which controls the gain of the amplifier l4 through the control signal line l3.

The invention of claim 4 is one in which the output of the resistance value detection circuit l1 in FIG. 2 is transferred to the outside without performing gain control within the microphone as in the above embodiment, thereby controlling the gain of the amplifier. It is.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which the polarity of the control direction in each embodiment as described above is switched.

In other words, as mentioned above, when a person is excited or nervous, they usually press the microphone too hard or
It is thought that people often unconsciously raise their voices as their palms sweat, but some people's voices may become quieter when they are nervous. Also, when intentionally trying to use the pressure-based gain control function of the present invention, it is more natural for the gain to increase when the grip is tightened.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a changeover switch 15 is provided,
When the pressure of pressure sensor 4 becomes high, either reduce the output or
Or, conversely, it is possible to switch between reducing the output when the pressure becomes low.

This is explained based on FIG. 2 and can also be applied to the second embodiment.

All of the above embodiments describe cases in which a microphone is connected to an amplifier via an output cable, but the present invention is not limited to this, and even in the case of a wireless microphone, the level of the modulated signal, or,
The same objective can be achieved by controlling the modulation degree using the method of the present invention.

Further, in the above embodiment, the microphone shape is a single microphone having a structure in which the microphone head portion and the grip portion are directly connected, but the present invention is not limited to the above structure. Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied to a case where a microphone, an amplifier, and a speaker are integrated, such as an electric megaphone.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, the gain of the microphone can be automatically controlled according to the degree of tension or excitement of the person who is speaking while holding the microphone. This has the advantage that it can prevent distortion of the output voice due to noise and indistinctness due to insufficient human voice power.

This is effective as a frame when learning or inputting actual speech during speech recognition, for example, and the application of the present invention has the advantage of increasing the accuracy of speech recognition.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 shows the i-th embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 shows the second embodiment of the invention, Fig. 3 shows the third embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 4 shows the third embodiment of the invention. The figure shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. The device is characterized by being provided with means for detecting the intensity of pressure applied from the outside to the grip portion, and means for controlling the gain related to the own audio/electrical conversion according to the intensity of the pressure detected by the above-mentioned means. microphone. 2. In addition to providing electrodes at at least two locations on the surface of the grip part, means for detecting the magnitude of electrical resistance between the electrodes, and controlling the gain related to the own audio/electrical conversion according to the magnitude of the detected electrical resistance. A microphone characterized in that it is provided with a means for. 3. A microphone comprising: means for detecting the intensity of pressure applied from the outside to a grip portion; and means for outputting an information signal relating to the strength of the pressure detected by the above means. 4. A microphone characterized in that electrodes are provided at at least two locations on the surface of the grip portion, and further comprising: means for detecting electrical resistance between the electrodes, and means for outputting an information signal related to the detected electrical resistance.