JPH09215084A - Sound reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sound reproducing device which can be used by a listener without fatigue or pain in the case of personal use. SOLUTION: Speakers 1L and 1R are held on the shoulders of the listener. Through inverse characteristic filters 13L and 13R having characteristics inverse to the characteristics of transmission from the speakers 1L and 1R to the ears of the listener, audio signals are supplied to the speakers 1L and 1R. The transmission characteristics are canceled by the inverse characteristic filters 13L and 13R, and reproduced sounds with high sound quality can be provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention allows an individual to listen to sounds reproduced by these various kinds of electronic equipment when using the electronic equipment such as a stereo system, a cassette tape recorder, a television receiver, etc., which provides audio. The present invention relates to a sound reproducing device suitable for use in some cases.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When an individual listens to music or the like, it is desirable that the reproduced voice be heard well by the listener and not by the surroundings.

Therefore, conventionally, a headphone or an earphone has been used which is directly attached to the ear of the listener and supplies the reproduced sound directly to the ear of the listener.

[0004]

By the way, in the case of using headphones, a certain amount of pressure is applied to the auricle of the listener who contacts the headphones and the peripheral portion thereof. For this reason, when the headphones are used for a long period of time, symptoms such as fatigue and pain often appear in the portion in contact with the headphones and the peripheral portion thereof.

However, in a sound reproducing apparatus such as headphones which is used only by the listener, if the speaker portion is not directly attached to the ear of the listener, the distance from the speaker to the ear of the listener becomes long. Therefore, the frequency characteristic of the reproduced sound emitted from the speaker is different from that at the time of sound emission when it reaches the ear of the listener.
In some cases, it may not be possible to listen to reproduced sound with good sound quality.

Further, in this case, the reproduced sound from the speaker may be leaked even to the surroundings of the listener, which may cause annoyance to others around the listener.

Further, unlike headphones, it is difficult to hold the speaker in a predetermined position with respect to the listener's ears, and it is not suitable for use while walking or going out, and portability is poor. Become.

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to eliminate the above problems and to provide a sound reproducing apparatus suitable for a listener to use personally.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the sound reproducing apparatus according to claim 1 is provided in the vicinity of the listener's ear without contacting the listener's ear. A speaker, a speaker, and a filter having a frequency characteristic that is an inverse characteristic of a transfer characteristic between the speaker and the user's ear are provided, and an audio signal is supplied to the speaker via the filter.

According to the sound reproducing device of the first aspect,
The speaker is supplied with the audio signal processed by the filter having the inverse characteristic. The filter having the inverse characteristic cancels the transfer characteristic from the speaker to the listener's ear.
As a result, the frequency characteristic of the reproduced sound at the listener's ear is made flat, and the reproduced sound with good sound quality is provided.

The sound reproducing device according to a second aspect of the invention is
The speaker is held on the shoulder of the listener by a holder that holds the speaker on the shoulder of the listener.

According to the sound reproducing device of the second aspect,
The speaker is always held on the listener's shoulder by the holder. Therefore, the same listening environment is provided even when the listener is stationary or moving such as walking.

The sound reproducing device according to the third aspect is
A speaker provided in the vicinity of the listener's ear in a state not in contact with the listener's ear, and a direction in which the sound emission directional characteristics of the speaker are unidirectional in the direction of the listener's ear. And a characteristic adjusting means.

According to the sound reproducing device of the third aspect,
The directional characteristic of the speaker is adjusted by the directional characteristic adjusting means so as to be unidirectional in the direction of the listener's ear. As a result, the reproduced sound emitted from the speaker is mainly provided only to the listener, and the sound emitted to the surroundings is reduced.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of a sound reproducing device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a first embodiment of a sound reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sound reproducing apparatus of this embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a holder of the speaker of FIG.

In the sound reproducing device of the present embodiment, a waistcoat type speaker holder 50 shown in FIG.
Thus, the speakers 1L and 1R are held on the shoulders of the listener.

The holding body 50 has an audio signal receiving section 51 having an input terminal 11 for two channels of an audio signal, which will be described in detail later, and a circuit section 10 for processing an audio signal input through the input terminal 11. It is provided.

At the input terminal 11 of the audio signal receiving section 51,
As shown in FIG.
A cord 61 having channel pin plugs 61a and 61b is connected. In this embodiment, one of the pin plugs 61 a of the cord 61 is provided with the audio signal receiving section 51.
Connected to the input terminal 11 of the other pin plug 61b
Is connected to, for example, an audio signal output terminal of a portable tape player (not shown).

The audio signal from the portable tape player is supplied to the audio signal receiving section 51 of the holder 50 via the cord 61, and the circuit section 1 provided in the audio signal receiving section 51.
Speaker 1 held on both shoulders of listener through 0
It is supplied to L and 1R, and reproduced sound is emitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the circuit section 10 includes inverse characteristic filters 13L and 13R. The inverse characteristic filters 13L and 13R have a DSP (digital signal processor) configuration.

The inverse characteristic filter 13L is an inverse characteristic HL of the transfer characteristic HL from the speaker 1L to the ear of the listener's left ear.
^It is a digital filter with ^-1 . Inverse characteristic filter 13
R is a digital filter having an inverse characteristic HR ^-1 of the transfer characteristic HR from the speaker 1R to the ear of the listener's right ear.

The inverse characteristics HL ^-1 and HR ^-1 are obtained based on the transfer characteristics HL and HR.
HR can be obtained as follows.

For example, assuming an average figure of a general listener, a doll that matches this figure is created. The same speakers as those of the sound reproducing device of this embodiment are fixed to both shoulders of this doll. The speaker emits a test signal with a single level at all frequencies.

Then, the emitted test signal is picked up by the microphones at the ears of the left and right ears of the doll.
Transfer characteristics HL and HR are obtained by orthogonally transforming the collected test signal by FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) and checking the reproduction level for each frequency.

Then, inverse characteristics HL ^-1 and HR ^-1 are obtained by calculation based on the obtained transfer characteristics HL and HR. The parameters to be set in the inverse characteristic filters 13L and 13R having the DPS configuration are formed so as to obtain the obtained inverse characteristic, and these parameters are previously set.
Set to R. As a result, the inverse characteristic filters 13L, 1
3R can be formed.

Further, in FIG. 1, the inverse characteristic filter 13
A / D conversion circuit 12L provided in the preceding stage of L and 13R,
The 12R converts an analog audio signal supplied via the input terminals 11L and 11R into a digital audio signal.

The D / A conversion circuits 14L and 14R provided at the subsequent stage of the inverse characteristic filters 13L and 13R convert the digital audio signals processed by the inverse characteristic filters 13L and 13R into analog audio signals. In addition, the amplifier circuit 15
The L and 15R amplify the audio signal supplied to the speakers 1L and 1R to a predetermined level.

With the above-mentioned structure, the audio signals supplied via the input terminals 11L and 11R are transferred to the inverse characteristic filters 13L and 13R by the transfer characteristics HL and H.
It is processed so as to have inverse characteristics HL ⁻¹ and HR ⁻¹ of R.

Then, the audio signals processed by the inverse characteristic filters 13L and 13R are reproduced by the speakers 1L and 1R and reach the ears of the listener. At this time, the reproduced sound in which the transfer characteristics HL and HR are canceled is provided to the left and right ears of the listener by the processing of the inverse characteristic filters 13L and 13R. Therefore, the frequency characteristics at the left and right ears are flat.

FIG. 3 shows the transfer characteristic HR as described above.
An example of the inverse characteristic HR ⁻¹ obtained based on the above is shown. Then, in this case, the parameters are set in the right channel inverse characteristic filter 13R so as to have the characteristic shown in FIG.

Then, when the voice signal processed by the inverse characteristic filter having the characteristic shown in FIG. 3 is supplied to the speaker 1R and the reproduced voice is emitted, the right ear of the listener as shown in FIG. It was confirmed by an experiment that the frequency characteristic at 1 becomes flat as shown by the solid waveform R, and the frequency characteristic at the ear of the right ear of the listener becomes as shown by the dotted waveform L.

As shown in FIG. 4, the level difference (hereinafter referred to as the left-right difference) between the reproduced sound at the left ear and the right ear is about 10 dB in the middle range up to 1 KHz, and a band higher than that. Then, 15 dB to 20 dB or more is generated. This is because the sound emitted from the speaker 1R is blocked by the listener's head and is difficult to be transmitted to the right ear. Further, since the distance to the speaker 1R is different between the right ear and the left ear, and the transfer characteristics are also different, it is difficult to reach the left ear. Therefore,
The sound emitted from the speaker 1R is often heard in the right ear, but difficult to hear in the left ear.

Therefore, the sound reproducing device of this embodiment is similar to the case of the conventional headphone in that the speaker 1 is used.
The sound emitted from L and 1R has a flat frequency characteristic at the ear of the corresponding ear. As a result, it is possible to hear the reproduced sound with good sound quality. Also, speaker 1L
The amount of sound reproduced from the right ear and the speaker 1
Since the reproduced sound from R is audible to the left ear, the sound emitted from the speakers 1L and 1R can be heard well.

Further, since the speakers 1L and 1R are used while being held on the listener's shoulders, the speaker portion does not come into contact with the listener's ears, and even if the speaker is used for a long time, the ears and It does not cause fatigue or pain in the surrounding area.

In the above embodiment, the transfer characteristics of the inverse characteristics HR ^-1 and HR ^-1 were measured using a doll that matched the average body shape of general listeners. It is also possible to measure the transfer characteristics of each listener individually and specify the inverse characteristics accordingly.

That is, the transfer characteristic of the user of the sound reproducing apparatus of this embodiment is measured, for example, at the service center of the manufacturer of this sound reproducing apparatus, and the inverse characteristic matching the user is measured accordingly. Can be set in the inverse characteristic filters 13L and 13R. In this case, the inverse characteristic filter is provided with an input terminal for supplying the inverse characteristic parameter so that the inverse characteristic parameter can be changed repeatedly.

Although the speakers 1L and 1R are held on the shoulders of the listener by the holder 50 of the speakers, for example, the speakers 1L and 1R may be attached to and held on the back of a chair in which the listener sits. Alternatively, it may be hung from a wall or ceiling and held near the ear of the listener.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the sound reproducing apparatus according to the present invention will be described.
The sound reproducing device of this embodiment provides the reproduced sound to only the listener without affecting the surroundings by giving the speaker a sharp directional characteristic.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining the sound reproducing device of this embodiment. The sound reproducing device of this embodiment uses speaker sets 2L and 2R each including a plurality of omnidirectional speaker units. In the speaker sets 2L and 2R of this embodiment, thirteen omnidirectional speaker units SP1 to SP13 are provided on the listener's shoulder, along the ridge of the shoulder, from the listener's neck to the base of the arm. , Are formed in a row at regular intervals.

The speaker sets 2L and 2R are the above-mentioned first
Similar to the embodiment described above, the vest-type holder shown in FIG. 2 is used and held on both shoulders of the listener as shown in FIG.

The sound reproducing apparatus of this embodiment is weighted by 13 variable gain circuits GA1 to GA13 corresponding to the 13 speaker units SP1 to S and P13 forming the speaker sets 2L and 2R. Circuit parts 22L and 22R and speaker units SP1 to S
The amplifier circuit units 23L and 23R formed by 13 amplifier circuits AL1 to AL13 corresponding to P13 are provided. Note that the numbers indicating suffixes of the speaker units SP1 to SP13, the amplifier circuits AL1 to AL13, and the variable gain circuits GA1 to GA13 indicate their corresponding relationship.

The variable gain circuits GA1 to GA13 of the weighting circuit sections 22L and 22R use the preset coefficient values as shown in FIG.
The gain of the audio signal supplied to P13 is changed.

In this embodiment, the speaker numbers shown in FIG. 6 correspond to the numbers indicating the suffixes of the speaker units SP1 to SP13. In this way, by changing the coefficient value for each speaker unit SP1 to SP13 and weighting the audio signal supplied to each speaker unit SP1 to SP13, the sound emission directional characteristic of the entire speaker set 2L, 2R is controlled. .

Amplifier circuit AP of amplifier circuit sections 23L and 23R
1 to AP13 are corresponding variable gain circuits GA1 to GA1.
Upon receiving the supply of the audio signal from 3, the audio signal is amplified to a predetermined level.

The audio signals supplied through the input terminals 21L and 21R are weighted by the weighting circuit sections 22L and 22R.
Of the variable gain circuits GA1 to GA13. In the variable gain circuits GA1 to GA13, as described above, the audio signals supplied to the speakers SP1 to SP13 are weighted using the coefficient values shown in FIG.
Audio signals having different weightings are supplied to 1 to SP13.

With the above configuration, in the sound reproducing apparatus of this embodiment, the speaker sets 2L and 2R formed by the omnidirectional speaker units SP1 to SP13 are as shown in FIG. , It is possible to have a sharp directional characteristic (polar pattern) in one direction.
In this case, the direction of the directional axis is the direction from the speaker sets 2L, 2R to the listener's ears, as indicated by the arrow in FIG.

Therefore, the sound emission directional characteristics of the speaker sets 2L and 2R become sharp only in the direction of the listener's ears.

Therefore, the sound emitted from the speaker sets 2L and 2R can be heard well by the listener and not heard by the surroundings, and a sound reproducing device suitable for personal use is realized. it can. Further, since the speaker sets 2L and 2R are not in contact with the listener's ears, fatigue and pain do not occur in the ears and their peripheral portions as in the first embodiment.

The speaker units SP1 to SP13
By controlling the phase characteristics of the audio signal supplied to
It is also possible to change the direction of the sound emission directing axis of the speaker sets 2L and 2R. That is, a delay circuit having a variable delay amount is provided corresponding to the speaker units SP1 to SP13, and a phase difference is generated in the audio signals supplied to each of the speaker units SP1 to SP13.
As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to change the directivity direction of the sound output sound between the direction approaching the ear of the listener and the direction away from the ear.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment of the sound reproducing apparatus according to the present invention will be described.
The sound reproducing device according to the present embodiment provides a speaker with a sharp directional characteristic to provide a reproduced sound only to a listener, and a frequency characteristic at the ear of the listener of the reproduced sound provided is a so-called flat characteristic. By doing so, the reproduced sound with good sound quality is provided to the listener.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram for explaining the sound reproducing device of this embodiment. As shown in FIG.
The sound reproducing device according to this embodiment includes the inverse characteristic filters 13L and 13R described in the first embodiment before the weighting circuit sections 22L and 22R of the sound reproducing device according to the second embodiment. , And A / D conversion circuits 12L, 1
2R and D / A conversion circuits 14L and 14R are provided.

The audio signals supplied through the input terminals 11L and 11R are inverse characteristic filters 13L and 13R.
In, the transmission characteristics from the speaker units 2L and 2R to the ears of the corresponding ears of the listener are opposite.

The voice signal having the inverse characteristic of the transfer characteristic is branched and supplied to each of the variable gain circuits GA1 to GA13 of the weighting circuit sections 22L and 22R. Then, the audio signal is weighted by changing the gain corresponding to each of the speakers SP1 to SP13. In this case, the coefficient value shown in FIG. 6 is used. As a result, the speaker sets 2L and 2R are provided with sharp directional characteristics in the direction in which the listener's ears are present.

With the above configuration, the reproduced sound emitted from the speaker sets 2L and 2R is provided only to the listener, and the provided reproduced sound has a frequency characteristic at the listener's ear. Has a flat characteristic. Therefore, the listener can listen to the reproduced sound with good sound quality without worrying about the surroundings.

Also in this embodiment, the speaker sets 2L and 2R are held on the shoulders of the listener by using the holder shown in FIG.

[Fourth Embodiment] Next, a fourth embodiment of the sound reproducing apparatus according to the present invention will be described.
The sound reproducing device of this embodiment takes advantage of the feature that the speaker is directly attached to and held by the listener's body such as the listener's shoulder. The reproduced sound in the low frequency range is not given to the listener as a sound, but is directly given to the listener's body as a vibration so that the listener's audibility is improved.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram for explaining the sound reproducing device of this embodiment. As shown in FIG.
The sound reproducing device of this embodiment has, for example, two speakers 3L, 4L, and 2 speakers on the left and right shoulders of the listener, respectively.
3R and 4R are held. Also in this embodiment, the speakers 3L, 4L, 3R, 4R are held on the shoulders of the listener by using the holder shown in FIG.

The sound reproducing apparatus of this embodiment has audio signal input terminals 31L, 31R, an A / D conversion circuit 32L,
The 32R inverse characteristic filters 33L and 33R, the D / A conversion circuits 34L and 34R, and the amplifier circuits 35L and 35R are provided. These are the respective units and circuits corresponding to the first embodiment described above with reference to FIG. It is formed similarly to.

Then, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, it has low-pass filters 36L and 36R amplifier circuits 37L and 37R, and speakers 4L and 4R.

The low-pass filters 36L and 36R are filters which pass only the low frequency components of the audio signal, and in the present embodiment, pass the audio signal of 150 Hz or less, for example. Further, the amplifier circuits 37L and 37R are
The audio signal supplied via the low-pass filters 36L and 36R is amplified to a predetermined level.

Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the input terminal 31
The audio signals supplied via the L and 31R are the A / D conversion circuits 32L and 32R and the low-pass filters 36L and 36L.
Supplied to R.

The audio signals supplied to the A / D conversion circuits 32L and 32R are processed by the inverse characteristic filters 33L and 33R, as in the case of the first embodiment, and the listeners 3L and 3R hear them. The transfer characteristics of the corresponding ear to the base of the ear are canceled. Thus, the reproduced sound emitted from the speakers 3L and 3R is directly supplied to the listener's ears.

On the other hand, in the audio signal supplied to the low-pass filters 36L and 36R, only low-frequency components below 150 Hz are extracted here. The low frequency components of the extracted audio signal are amplified to a predetermined level in the amplifier circuits 37L and 37R and supplied to the speakers 4L and 4R. That is, the speakers 4L and 4R are dedicated speakers for audio signals of low frequency components.

With this configuration, the sound emitted from the speakers 3L and 3R is directly supplied to the listener's ears, and the sound of the low frequency component emitted from the speakers 4L and 4R. Is transmitted to the listener's shoulder as vibration.

As a result, the listener can obtain the so-called body sonic effect and can improve the hearing characteristics.

[0067]

As described above, according to the sound reproducing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to provide a good reproduced sound only to the listener without affecting the surroundings. Further, even during use, the head and pinna do not cause fatigue or pain.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a first embodiment of a sound reproducing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of a holder of a speaker of the sound reproducing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of filter characteristics of an inverse characteristic filter of the sound reproduction device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the sound reproducing device according to the first embodiment,
It is a figure which shows the reproduction frequency characteristic in the right ear ear and the left ear ear when reproduced sound is emitted only from the speaker on the right shoulder.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining the second embodiment of the sound reproducing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of coefficient values used for weighting an audio signal in the sound reproduction device of the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an audio reproducing device according to a second embodiment,
It is a directional characteristic figure for demonstrating the sound emission directional characteristic of a speaker unit.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram for explaining a third embodiment of a sound reproducing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram for explaining a fourth embodiment of a sound reproducing device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

11L ... input terminal, 11R ... input terminal, 21L ... input terminal, 21R ... input terminal, 31L ... input terminal, 31R ... input terminal, 12L ... A / D conversion circuit, 12R ... A / D conversion circuit, 32L ... A / D conversion circuit, 32R ... A / D conversion circuit, 13L ... Inverse characteristic filter (DSP), 13R ... Inverse characteristic filter (DSP), 33L ... Inverse characteristic filter (DS
P), 33R ... Inverse characteristic filter (DSP), 14L ... D
/ A conversion circuit, 14R ... D / A conversion circuit, 34L ... D /
A conversion circuit, 34R ... D / A conversion circuit, 15L ... amplification circuit, 15R ... amplification circuit, 35L ... amplification circuit, 35R ... amplification circuit, 37L ... amplification circuit, 37R ... amplification circuit, 1L ...
Speaker, 1R ... Speaker, 3L ... Speaker, 3R ... Speaker, 4L ... Speaker, 4R ... Speaker set, 2R ... Speaker set, 22L ... Weighting unit, 22R ... Weighting unit, 23L ... Amplifying circuit unit, 23R
... Amplification circuit section, 36L ... Low pass filter, 36R ... Low pass filter, GA1 to GA13 ... Variable gain circuit, A
P1 to AP13 ... Amplifier circuit, SP1 to AP13 ... Speaker unit, 50 ... Speaker holder

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Takeshi Hara, 6-735 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sony Corporation (72) Kaoru Gyotoku, 6-35, Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sony Corporation (72) Ikue Akiba, 6-735 Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sony Corporation (72) Kohei Asada 6-35 Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sony Corporation (72) Within the corporation

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A speaker provided in the vicinity of a listener's ear in a state of being in non-contact with the listener's ear, and a frequency having a reverse characteristic of a transfer characteristic between the speaker and the user's ear. A sound reproducing device, comprising: a filter having a characteristic; and supplying an audio signal to the speaker via the filter. 2. The sound reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the speaker holds the speaker on the shoulder of the listener by a holder that holds the speaker on the shoulder of the listener. 3. A speaker provided in the vicinity of the listener's ear in a state in which the speaker is not in contact with the listener's ear, and a sound emission directional characteristic of the speaker is unified in the direction of the listener's ear. A sound reproduction device, comprising: a directivity characteristic adjusting means for directivity. 4. The sound reproducing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the speaker holds the speaker on the shoulder of the listener by a holder that holds the speaker on the shoulder of the listener. 5. The directivity adjusting means for adjusting the sound emission directivity of the speaker to a single directivity in the direction of the listener's ear is provided between the speaker and the filter having the reverse characteristic. The sound reproducing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that. 6. A plurality of speakers and low-frequency component extraction means for extracting only low-frequency components of an audio signal, wherein at least one of the plurality of speakers has a low-frequency component extraction means. The sound reproducing device according to claim 2 or 4, which supplies an audio signal.