JPH11331433A - Communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically control a microphone gain based on the height of a voice level outputted from a speaker on the reception side of voice signals on the transmission side of the voice signals and to output voice at an easily audible level at all times on the reception side. SOLUTION: On the reception side 2, the voice level of the voice signals sent through a voice path 3 is compared with a reference voice level and the height of the level is judged in a voice level judgement means 12. Based on the judgement, microphone gain control signals for increasing/decreasing the microphone gain on the transmission side 1 are transmitted through a data path 5 to the transmission side 1. On the transmission side, a microphone gain controller 12 receives the microphone gain control signals sent from the reception side through the data path 5, automatically controls the gain of a microphone 7 based on them and performs adjustment so as to make the level of the voice signals to be transmitted appropriate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of automobiles / mobile phones,
In the event of an accident or other emergency, the system automatically dials the information center registered in advance. A communication system for making a notification using a telephone data path has been developed.

[0003]

In such a communication system, a telephone call can be made through a voice path, and a data signal can be transmitted and received through a data path. However, in the case of a vehicle-mounted telephone, when the speaker speaks loudly to the telephone because of the surrounding noise, or when the microphone gain is too high, the voice signal transmitted through the voice path is received by the receiver. When the output is performed by the speaker, even if the gain of the speaker is adjusted lower, the output sound is distorted because the microphone gain itself of the transmission source is the cause. Conversely, if the microphone gain on the transmitting side is too low, the noise level superimposed on the audio signal becomes relatively high, and the sound output from the speaker on the receiving side becomes mixed with noise, making it difficult to hear.

In such a case, it is possible to improve the audio signal level and S / N by adjusting the microphone gain on the transmitting side, but the speaker for reproducing and outputting the audio signal is on the receiving side. Since the microphone is on the transmitting side, there is no device that conventionally adjusts the gain of the microphone depending on the quality of the reproduced sound output from the speaker.

In a communication system having a voice path and a data path and capable of performing two-way communication between both paths, such as the above-described communication system between a car / mobile phone and an information center, the data path is used. If the microphone gain control signal is transmitted from the receiving side to the source of the audio signal, the audio signal transmitting side can automatically or manually perform the microphone gain control based on the gain control signal. The appropriate microphone gain control reflecting the state of the audio signal to be performed can be performed on the transmission side.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of such technical problems, and monitors the audio signal level on the audio signal receiving side, and when the audio signal level is not appropriate, the source of the audio signal through the data path. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication system capable of receiving a sound signal of good sound quality at an appropriate level by sending back a microphone gain control signal to the microphone and adjusting the microphone gain of the transmission source.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in a communication system having an audio path and a data path, the transmission level of an audio signal on the transmission side is determined by the level of the audio signal received on the reception side. It is controlled through a path.

In the communication system according to the first aspect of the present invention, an audio signal transmitted from the transmitting side through the audio path is received by the receiving side, and the transmission level of the audio signal on the transmitting side is determined based on the level of the audio signal. By controlling the microphone gain on the transmission side so that the transmission level of the audio signal is appropriate from the reception side even if the transmission side and the reception side are far apart, the reception side And output it.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the communication system of the first aspect, the receiving side compares the audio level with a reference audio level, and determines the level of the reference audio level, and the audio level determining means. Based on the determination, the microphone gain instructing means for transmitting a microphone gain control signal for increasing or decreasing the microphone gain of the transmitting side through the data path, the microphone gain control signal received through the data path on the transmitting side And a microphone gain controller for controlling the microphone gain based on the

[0010] In the communication system according to the second aspect of the present invention, on the receiving side, the sound level of the sound signal transmitted through the sound path is compared with a reference sound level by sound level judgment means to judge the sound level. The microphone gain instructing means transmits a microphone gain control signal for increasing or decreasing the microphone gain on the transmission side to the transmission side via the data path. On the transmitting side, the microphone gain controller receives the microphone gain control signal sent from the receiving side through the data path, automatically controls the microphone gain based on this, and determines that the audio signal level to be transmitted is appropriate. Adjust so that

Thus, even if the transmitting side and the receiving side are far apart, the microphone gain of the transmitting side is automatically adjusted so that the transmission level of the audio signal is appropriate from the receiving side, so that the audio signal of easy-to-listen sound quality is obtained. And receive and output.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the communication system of the first or second aspect, two-way communication is performed by the voice path and the data path. Can be transmitted bidirectionally.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the communication system of the first to third aspects, one of the transmitting side and the receiving side is an information center, and the other of the transmitting side and the receiving side is mounted on a vehicle. It is a telephone, and it is possible to control the microphone gain of the other party and transmit an easily-audible audio signal between the vehicle and the information center.

[0014]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the receiving side receives an audio signal transmitted from the transmitting side through the audio path, and determines the transmission level of the audio signal on the transmitting side based on the level of the audio signal. Since the control is performed through the path, even if the transmitting side and the receiving side are far apart, the microphone gain of the transmitting side is adjusted so that the transmission level of the audio signal is appropriate from the receiving side, and the audio signal is received with a sound quality that is easy to hear And output it.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, even if the transmitting side and the receiving side are far apart, the microphone gain of the transmitting side is automatically adjusted so that the transmission level of the audio signal from the receiving side becomes appropriate, The audio signal can be received and output as a sound signal of easy-to-hear sound quality.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the communication system performs two-way communication through the voice path and the data path, the two-sites control the microphone gain of the other party to transmit an easy-to-listen voice signal in both directions. Can be.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, one of the transmitting side and the receiving side is an information center, and the other is an automobile / mobile phone mounted on a vehicle. A communication system that controls the microphone gain and transmits an easy-to-listen audio signal can be realized.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 show, as one embodiment of the present invention, a two-way communication system including a vehicle / mobile phone 1 mounted on a vehicle and a remote information center 2 for receiving an emergency call. Between the car / mobile phone 1 and the information center 2, the voice signal and the data signal are transmitted by the upstream path 3 of the voice signal, the downstream path 4 of the voice signal, the upstream path 5 of the data signal, and the downstream path 6 of the data signal. Perform two-way communication.

Both the car / mobile phone 1 and the information center 2 are provided with a microphone 7 and a speaker 8, a microphone gain amplifier 9 for automatically controlling the gain of the microphone 7, and a speaker gain detection for detecting an audio signal input level of the speaker 8. An apparatus 10 is provided. And a data communication device 1 for controlling transmission and reception of data signals by the data paths 5 and 6.
1. A control device 12 is provided for giving a microphone gain amplifier 9 an increase / decrease adjustment instruction signal to the microphone gain amplifier 9 in response to a microphone gain instruction signal from the other party received through the data communication device 11.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 12 receives a detection signal of the audio signal level detected by the speaker gain detection device 10 and receives the audio signal level received by the speaker gain input portion 21 in advance. A gain suitability determining unit 22 that compares the level with a given reference audio signal level and determines suitability thereof, and an appropriate microphone gain calculating unit 23 that calculates an appropriate microphone gain based on the determination result of the gain suitability determining unit 22. ing. The control device 12 also has a microphone gain instruction input unit 2 that receives a microphone gain instruction signal received by the data communication device 11.
4. A microphone gain instructing unit 25 for instructing the microphone gain amplifier 9 of an appropriate microphone gain based on the microphone gain instruction.

Next, the operation of the communication system having the above configuration will be described. Hereafter, from car / mobile phone 1 to information center 2
, And the communication is started, and the vehicle / mobile phone 1 will be described as a transmitting side, and the information center 2 will be described as a receiving side. In this case, the microphone 7 of the receiving side 1 collects the voice of the sender, amplifies the signal level to a preset signal level by the microphone gain amplifier 9, and transmits the signal level to the receiving side 2 through the upstream voice path 3.

On the receiving side 2, the audio signal received by the speaker 8 is output as a sound having a volume corresponding to the signal level. The audio signal level of the sound output from the speaker 8 of the receiving side 2 is monitored by the speaker gain detecting device 10, and the speaker gain is input to the control device 12.

In the control device 12, the speaker gain is input by the speaker gain input section 21 and passed to the gain appropriateness determination section 22. The gain appropriateness determination unit 22 compares the detected speaker gain with the speaker gain corresponding to a preset reference audio level, determines the level thereof, and passes the result to the appropriate microphone gain calculation unit 23. When the detected speaker gain is high, the appropriate microphone gain calculation unit 23 outputs to the data communication device 11 an instruction to decrease the microphone gain by a predetermined amount as a microphone gain instruction signal. The data communication device 11 transmits a microphone gain instruction signal to the transmission side 1 via the downlink data path 6.

On the transmitting side 1, when the data communication device 11 receives the microphone gain instruction signal through the downlink data path 6, it passes it to the microphone gain instruction input section 24 of the control device 12 on the transmitting side 1. When receiving the microphone gain instruction signal, the microphone gain instruction input unit 24 passes the signal to the appropriate microphone gain instruction unit 25, and the appropriate microphone gain instruction unit 25 gives a command to the microphone gain amplifier 9 to lower the microphone gain by a predetermined amount. The microphone gain amplifier 9 receiving this command lowers the microphone gain by a predetermined amount.

As a result, the level of the audio signal collected by the microphone 7 on the transmitting side 1 is reduced, and
The audio signal level transmitted to the speaker 8 of the receiving side 2 through the upstream audio path 3 becomes appropriate, and the speaker 8 outputs a sound that is easy to hear.

Conversely, when the audio signal level output from the speaker 8 of the receiving side 2 is low, the control device 12 transmits a microphone gain instruction signal for increasing the microphone gain by a predetermined amount to the transmitting side 1 through the downlink data path 6. , The gain of the microphone gain amplifier 9 with respect to the microphone 7 of the transmitting side 1 is increased,
Thereafter, the level of the audio signal transmitted from the microphone 7 to the speaker 8 on the receiving side 2 through the upward audio path 3 is adjusted to an appropriate level, and the speaker 8 outputs a sound that has been raised to a size that is easy to hear.

Conversely to the above case, the operation of automatically adjusting the signal level for the audio signal transmitted from the information center 2 to the car / mobile phone 1 is performed in the same manner as described above. However, in this case, the information center 2 is on the transmitting side, and the car / mobile phone 1 is on the receiving side. Further, the audio signal is transmitted from the information center 2 on the transmitting side to the car / mobile phone 1 on the receiving side through the downlink voice path 4, and
The microphone gain instruction signal from the mobile phone 1 to the information center 2 is transmitted through the uplink data path 5.

As described above, according to the communication system of the above-described embodiment, bidirectional communication between the car / mobile phone 1 and the information center 2 using the voice paths 3 and 4 and the data paths 5 and 6. In the communication system, if the gain control signal of the microphone 7 is transmitted from the receiving side of the audio signal to the transmitting side using the data paths 5 and 6, the transmitting side of the audio signal transmits the microphone signal based on the microphone gain control signal. Since the gain control is automatically performed, the microphone gain can be controlled on the transmitting side of the audio signal based on the signal level of the received audio on the receiving side, and the communication of the audio signal which is always easy to hear can be performed.

In the above-described embodiment, the control device 12 on the receiving side compares the received audio level with the reference audio level and the level, and according to the difference, increases or decreases the microphone gain by a predetermined amount. Is generated and transmitted to the transmission side through the data path. The control device 12 on the transmission side generates the microphone gain amplifier 9 based on the microphone gain instruction signal.
The control for increasing / decreasing the gain by a predetermined amount is performed.
However, the present invention is not limited to such a control method. When the audio level received on the receiving side is higher or lower than the reference audio level, the gain of the microphone gain amplifier is determined in one transmission of the microphone gain instruction signal. May be increased or decreased by a predetermined level, and thereafter, the same control may be repeated until the control device 12 determines that the received audio level is appropriate.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the communication system using the radio telephone communication of the car / mobile phone / information center has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
A wired communication system, a wireless communication system, or a communication system using both wired and wireless communication can be widely applied to a communication system using a voice path and a data path. Further, without being limited to the two-way communication system, even if the transmitting side of the audio signal, even if the receiving side is fixed, if at least a data path that can transmit data from the receiving side of the audio signal to the transmitting side is provided, Can be widely applied. However, in this case, the transmitting side of the audio signal needs to have the microphone gain instruction input unit 24 and the appropriate microphone gain instruction unit 25 shown in FIG. 21, an appropriate gain determining unit 22 and an appropriate microphone gain calculating unit 23.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control device according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Car / mobile phone 2 Information center 3, 4 Voice path 5, 6 Data path 7 Microphone 8 Speaker 9 Microphone gain amplifier 10 Speaker gain detection device 11 Data communication device 12 Control device 21 Speaker gain input part 22 Gain appropriateness judgment part 23 Proper Microphone gain calculation unit 24 Microphone gain instruction input unit 25 Appropriate microphone gain instruction unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A communication system having a voice path and a data path, wherein a transmission level of a voice signal on a transmission side is controlled through the data path based on a level of a voice signal received on a reception side. system. 2. The receiving side compares the audio level with a reference audio level, and increases or decreases the microphone gain on the transmitting side based on the determination by the audio level determining means for determining the level. A microphone gain control unit for transmitting a microphone gain control signal for causing the microphone to pass through the data path; and a microphone controller for controlling the microphone gain based on the microphone gain control signal received on the data path. Claim 1 comprising
A communication system according to claim 1. 3. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein two-way communication is performed using the voice path and the data path. 4. The transmission center according to claim 1, wherein one of the transmission side and the reception side is an information center, and the other of the transmission side and the reception side is an automobile / mobile phone mounted on a vehicle. The communication system according to any one of the above.