KR20160085985A - Apparatus and method for controlling howling - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are an apparatus and a method for controlling howling. The apparatus for controlling howling includes: a registration unit which registers a microphone and a speaker of a multiparty call participation device; a test unit which detects the combination of the microphone and the speaker which generate the howling by performing a howling test between each registered speaker and each registered microphone; a device control unit which sets an activated microphone and an activated speaker according to predetermined priority by avoiding the detected combination; and a monitoring unit which determines whether the howling occurs by performing howling monitoring on the activated microphone and the activated speaker as a multiparty call proceeds. The present invention prevents the howling during a multiparty call.

Description

[0001] Apparatus and method for controlling howling [

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for controlling howling.

Multiparty calls generally consisted of a multipoint call room equipped with a multiparty call equipment in a physical conference room, and then a plurality of people gathered in a multipurpose call room to conduct a multi-party call room and collaboration. However, with the advent of the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) era, a multi-party call environment has been added through smart phones and smart pads. In such a multi-party call environment, a plurality of microphones and speakers operate in a narrow space by participating in a multi-party call in a conventional multi-party call room, thereby causing a howling problem.

Howling phenomenon can be experienced in the karaoke room, lecture room, etc. You may have suddenly experienced a hissing metallic sound coming out of the speaker, which is "spiky". This is a phenomenon called howling, which can happen anytime you use a microphone and speakers. Howling is caused when the speaker volume is too large or the distance between the microphone and the speaker is too close. In this case, the sound leaking from the speaker is again microinputed and leaks to the speaker. If there is a certain frequency sound overlapping in this loop of sound, it will cause an unpleasant noise to be "pounded". The way to prevent howling is to keep the microphone as far away from the speaker as possible, or not to raise the speaker volume too high.

Also, howling problems that occur with audio equipment other than a multi-party communication device and a mobile terminal can also provide inconvenience for multi-party communication. Basically, I use the echo-cancelation technique to solve the howling problem. However, this technology is compatible only with equally applied equipment, and there are limitations in solving problems when other equipment is involved. If a separate microphone and speaker are installed in the existing conference room, it is difficult to solve the problem using the echo-cancelation technique.

The present invention proposes a howling control apparatus and method for controlling respective microphones and speakers of a multiparty call participating devices in order to prevent occurrence of howling during a multi-party call.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a howling control apparatus for preventing occurrence of howling during a multi-party call is disclosed.

The howling control apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a registration unit for registering a microphone and a speaker of a conference participating device, a test for detecting a combination of a microphone and a speaker in which howling occurs by performing a feedback test between each registered speaker and each microphone A device controller for setting an active microphone and an active speaker in accordance with a preset priority order without causing the detected combination, and monitoring howling of the active microphone and the active speaker in accordance with a multi-party call, And a monitoring unit for judging whether or not it is possible.

The device control unit resets the active microphone and the active speaker in accordance with the priority order when the occurrence of the howling is not detected and the combination of the microphone and the speaker detected as the occurrence of the howling occurs.

The test unit controls to output a test sound signal for each registered speaker, and detects a combination of a microphone and a speaker, in which howling occurs, by activating test sound signals of one speaker on a microphone-by-microphone basis.

Wherein the monitoring unit generates a first sentence and a second sentence by text-converting the first microphone voice, the active microphone-input first microphone voice, and the second microphone voice input after a predetermined time elapses, Compares the first word of the first sentence with the first word of the second sentence and determines that howling occurs when the first word of the first sentence matches the first word of the second sentence .

The first microphone voice is a voice of a speaker directly inputting the active microphone, and the second microphone voice is a voice of a speaker outputted through the active speaker is the active microphone input.

The registering unit registers each microphone and speaker by acquiring device information and a device handler for each microphone and speaker connected to the conference participating device from each conference participating device.

The multi-party call participant device includes a multi-party call device including a plurality of microphones and a plurality of speakers, and a user terminal communicating with the multi-party call device to perform a multi-party call, The speaker of the multipoint device is set higher than the speaker of the user terminal so that the speakers of the user terminal can easily listen.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a howling control method performed by a howling control apparatus in a multiparty call system is disclosed.

A method for controlling howling according to an embodiment of the present invention includes registering a microphone and a speaker of a conference participating device, performing a feedback test between each registered speaker and each microphone, and detecting a combination of a microphone and a speaker Setting an active microphone and an active speaker in accordance with a preset priority without performing the detected combination, and monitoring howling of the active microphone and the active speaker in accordance with the multi-party call, And a step of judging.

And resetting the active microphone and the active speaker according to the priority, when the occurrence of the howling is detected, without causing a combination of a microphone and a speaker to detect a howling occurrence.

The step of detecting the combination of the microphone and the speaker in which the howling occurs may include controlling a test sound signal to be output for each registered speaker by activating the test sound signal of each speaker in units of microphones, Detects a combination of speakers.

The step of determining whether or not the howling occurs may include the steps of receiving the active microphone input from the corresponding device, generating a first sentence by converting the first microphone voice into text, Extracting a first word from the microphone; receiving the second microphone voice inputted after a lapse of a predetermined time after the first microphone voice is input; converting the first microphone voice into text, Extracting a first word by decomposing the generated second sentence, comparing the first word of the first sentence with the first word of the second sentence, and comparing the first word of the first sentence with the first word of the second sentence, And judging that howling occurs when the first words of the two sentences match.

The first microphone voice is a voice of a speaker directly inputting the active microphone, and the second microphone voice is a voice of a speaker outputted through the active speaker is the active microphone input.

The step of registering the microphone and the speaker of the conference participating device includes acquiring device information and a device handler for each microphone connected to the conference participating device and each speaker from each conference participating device.

The present invention controls each microphone and speaker of the multi-party call participating devices, thereby preventing the occurrence of howling during multi-party calls.

Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a configuration of a conference system; Fig.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a howling control method performed by a howling control apparatus in the multipoint call system of FIG. 1. FIG.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a howling detection method;
4 is a flow chart illustrating a method for joining a multi-party call participant to a new multi-party call participant.
5 is a view schematically illustrating a configuration of a howling control device;

While the present invention has been described in connection with certain exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and similarities. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the following description of the present invention, detailed description of known related arts will be omitted when it is determined that the gist of the present invention may be unnecessarily obscured. In addition, numerals (e.g., first, second, etc.) used in the description of the present invention are merely an identifier for distinguishing one component from another.

Also, in this specification, when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" with another element, the element may be directly connected or directly connected to the other element, It should be understood that, unless an opposite description is present, it may be connected or connected via another element in the middle.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to facilitate a thorough understanding of the present invention, the same reference numerals are used for the same means regardless of the number of the drawings.

1 schematically illustrates a configuration of a multiparty call system.

Referring to FIG. 1, a multi-user communication system may include a howling control apparatus 100, a multi-party communication apparatus 200, a user terminal 300, and a Bluetooth device 400.

The multi-party communication device 200 includes a TV having a speaker, a plurality of microphones, and a plurality of speakers. For example, the multiparty call device 200 may be a teleconference device built into a conference room. Accordingly, the microphone and the speaker of the multi-party communication device 200 can be arranged in advance in a position where no howling occurs.

The user terminal 300 is communicatively connected to another user terminal or the multi-user device 200 as a multi-user participant device. For example, the user terminal 300 may be a smart phone installed with a multi-user application, and a user may perform a multi-user call using a microphone, a speaker, and a display device provided in the user terminal 300.

The Bluetooth device 400 may be a microphone and a speaker device equipped with a Bluetooth communication function, for example, a Bluetooth headset that is communicatively connected to the multi-party communication device 200 or the user terminal 300 through Bluetooth.

When the conference call is established, the howling control apparatus 100 performs a howling test on each microphone and speaker of the conference participant devices and controls the activation or inactivity of each microphone and speaker according to a result of the howling test. In addition, the howling control apparatus 100 monitors the howling of each of the multi-party participants during the multi-party call, and controls the activation or inactivity of each microphone and speaker according to the howling monitoring result. This will be described later in detail with reference to Figs. 2 to 4 hereinafter.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a howling control method performed by the howling control apparatus in the multipoint call system of FIG. 1; For example, the howling control apparatus 100 may be provided in the multi-party communication apparatus 200 or the user terminal 300, or may be provided in a control unit (not shown) included in the multi- Or may be implemented as a single function in a call application.

In step S210, the howling control apparatus 100 registers a conference participant device. For example, the howling control apparatus 100 may include a microphone for each microphone connected to a conference participating device, such as the conference call device 200, the user terminal 300 and the Bluetooth device 400 shown in FIG. 1, By acquiring information and a device handler from each conference participating device, each microphone and speaker can be registered. When the function of controlling the conference call is provided in the conference device 200 or the user terminal 300, the howling control device 100 transmits the conference call through the conference device 200 or the user terminal 300, You can also view the list of participating devices and control the devices participating in the multiparty call.

In step S220, the howling control apparatus 100 performs an initial howling test to detect a combination of a microphone and a speaker in which howling occurs. For example, the howling control apparatus 100 can test the mutual influence between each registered speaker and each microphone. That is, the howling control apparatus 100 controls to output a test sound signal for each registered speaker, activates test sound signals of one speaker on a microphone-by-microphone basis, By detecting the noise, the microphone and the speaker can be detected by a combination of a microphone and a speaker which generates howling.

In step S230, the howling control apparatus 100 sets an active microphone and an active speaker by detecting a combination of a microphone and a speaker in which howling occurs. That is, the howling control apparatus 100 can set the active microphone and the active speaker in accordance with the preset priority, without becoming a combination in which the detected howling occurs. Of course, if the combination of the microphone and the speaker in which the howling occurs is not detected, the howling control apparatus 100 may set the active microphone and the active speaker only in consideration of the priority. Here, the priority may be set such that, for example, the microphone of the conference creator or the device of the current speaker can be set high and the speaker of the multipoint device 200 is higher than the speaker of the user terminal 300 Can be set.

For example, the howling control apparatus 100 may activate all of the microphones and the loudspeakers, and then activate one microphone and one loudspeaker, as detecting the combination of the microphones and the loudspeakers where the howling occurs. At this time, the howling control apparatus 100 activates the microphone of the device of the current speaker and activates one of the speakers of the multi-party communication device 200 so as not to be a combination of howling with the microphone of the device of the active speaker . Of course, a plurality of microphones and speakers may be activated depending on the setting.

In step S240, the howling control apparatus 100 performs monitoring on the active microphone and the active speaker as the conference call is made. This will be described with reference to FIG.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a howling detection method.

In step S241, the howling control device 100 receives the voice of the first microphone that is actively micro-input from the corresponding device. Here, the first microphone voice may be the voice of the speaker directly inputting the active microphone.

In step S242, the Howling control apparatus 100 generates a first sentence by converting the received first microphone voice into text, and extracts the first word by decomposing the generated first sentence.

In step S243, the howling control apparatus 100 receives the voice of the active micro first microphone and the voice of the second microphone input after a predetermined time elapses from the corresponding device. Here, the second microphone voice may be one in which the voice of the speaker output through the active speaker is active micro-input.

In step S244, the Howling control apparatus 100 generates a second sentence by converting the received second microphone voice into text, and extracts the first word by decomposing the generated second sentence.

In step S245, the handling control device 100 compares the first word of the first sentence with the first word of the second sentence.

In step S246, the howling control apparatus 100 determines that howling occurs when the first word of the first sentence matches the first word of the second sentence as a result of the comparison.

Referring again to FIG. 2, in step S250, the howling control apparatus 100 determines whether howling has occurred. That is, if the first word of the first sentence and the first word of the second sentence coincide with each other as in step S246, the howling control apparatus 100 determines that howling occurs, Can be detected.

 In step S260, when the howling control device 100 detects the occurrence of howling, the active microphone and the active speaker are reset according to a predetermined priority order, without the combination of the microphone and the speaker in which the howling is detected. At this time, the howling control apparatus 100 may reset the active microphone and the active speaker in consideration of the combination of the microphone and the speaker, which is generated according to the howling detected according to the initial howling test in step S220. In other words, the howling control apparatus 100 may reset the active microphone and the active speaker so that the combination of the detected howling occurs according to the initial howling test.

In step S270, the howling control apparatus 100 determines whether or not the multiparty call has ended. The howling control apparatus 100 performs monitoring of the active microphone and the active speaker until the end of the conference call, and when the occurrence of howling is detected, the active microphone and the active speaker can be reset.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of joining a multi-party call in a new multi-party call participating device.

In step S410, the howling control device 100 receives a conference participation request from a new conference participant.

In step S420, the howling control apparatus 100 registers the corresponding multi-party call participant device upon receipt of the multi-party call participation request. For example, as described above with reference to FIG. 1, the howling control apparatus 100 acquires device information and a device handler for a microphone and a speaker connected to a new multi-party call participating device from a new multi-call participating device, You can register your device's microphone and speakers.

In step S430, the Howling control apparatus 100 performs a howling test to detect a combination of a microphone and a speaker in which howling occurs as in the initial howling test in step S220. That is, the howling control apparatus 100 can test mutual influence between each registered speaker and each microphone in a state where a microphone and a speaker of a new multi-party call participating device are registered.

In step S440, the howling control device 100 sets the active microphone and the active speaker as detecting the combination of the microphone and the speaker in which the howling occurs. That is, the howling control apparatus 100 can set the active microphone and the active speaker in accordance with the preset priority, without becoming a combination in which the detected howling occurs. Of course, if the combination of the microphone and the speaker in which the howling occurs is not detected, the howling control apparatus 100 may set the active microphone and the active speaker only in consideration of the priority.

In step S450, the howling control device 100 approves the multi-party participation of the new multi-party participant in accordance with the setting of the active microphone and the active speaker.

5 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a howling control apparatus.

Referring to FIG. 5, the howling control apparatus 100 includes a registration unit 110, a test unit 120, a monitoring unit 130, and a device control unit 140.

The registering unit 110 registers the multi-party call participant device. For example, the registration unit 110 registers device information for each microphone and each speaker connected to the conference participant device, such as the conference device 200, the user terminal 300, and the Bluetooth device 400 shown in FIG. 1 By acquiring a device handler from each conference participating device, each microphone and speaker can be registered.

The test unit 120 performs a howling test to detect a combination of a microphone and a speaker in which howling occurs. For example, the test unit 120 may test the mutual influence between each registered speaker and each microphone. That is, the test unit 120 controls to output a test sound signal for each registered speaker, activates test sound signals of one speaker on a microphone-by-microphone basis, So that the microphone and the speaker can be detected by a combination of a microphone and a speaker that generates howling.

The monitoring unit 130 monitors howling of active microphones and active speakers according to the multi-party call, and determines whether the occurrence of howling is detected. Since this has been described with reference to FIG. 3, the description will be omitted.

The device control unit 140 sets the active microphone and the active speaker as the test unit 120 detects the combination of the microphone and the speaker that generates the howling through the howling test. That is, the device control unit 140 can set the active microphone and the active speaker according to the preset priority, without becoming a combination in which the detected howling occurs. Of course, when the combination of the microphone and the speaker in which the howling occurs is not detected, the device control unit 140 may set the active microphone and the active speaker only in consideration of the priority.

In addition, when the device control unit 140 detects the occurrence of howling, the active microphone and the active speaker are reset in accordance with a preset priority order, without a combination of a microphone and a speaker in which howling is detected.

Meanwhile, the howling control method according to the embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in the form of a program command that can be executed through a variety of means for processing information electronically and recorded in a storage medium. The storage medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination.

Program instructions to be recorded on the storage medium may be those specially designed and constructed for the present invention or may be available to those skilled in the art of software. Examples of storage media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, magneto-optical media such as floptical disks, magneto-optical media and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. The above-mentioned medium may also be a transmission medium such as a light or metal wire, wave guide, etc., including a carrier wave for transmitting a signal designating a program command, a data structure and the like. Examples of program instructions include machine language code such as those produced by a compiler, as well as devices for processing information electronically using an interpreter or the like, for example, a high-level language code that can be executed by a computer.

The hardware devices described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It will be understood that the invention may be varied and varied without departing from the scope of the invention.

100: howling control device
200: Conferencing equipment
300: user terminal
400: Bluetooth device

Claims (13)

A register for registering a microphone and a speaker of the conference participating device;
A test section for performing a hauling test between each registered speaker and each microphone to detect a combination of a microphone and a speaker in which howling occurs;
A device controller for setting an active microphone and an active speaker according to a preset priority without the detected combination being established; And
And a monitoring unit for monitoring howling of the active microphone and the active speaker when a multi-party call is made to determine whether a howling has occurred.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the device control unit resets the active microphone and the active speaker according to the priority when the occurrence of the howling is not a combination of a microphone and a speaker in which the occurrence of howling is detected.
The method according to claim 1,
The test unit
Controlling to output a test sound signal for each registered speaker,
Characterized in that a combination of a microphone and a speaker in which howling occurs is activated by activating the test acoustic signal of one speaker on a microphone-by-microphone basis.
The method according to claim 1,
The monitoring unit
The active micro-input first micro-voice and the active micro-first micro-voice are input and a second microphone voice input after a lapse of a predetermined time, respectively, to generate a first sentence and a second sentence, And compares the first word of the sentence with the first word of the second sentence and determines that howling occurs when the first word of the first sentence matches the first word of the second sentence as a result of the comparison Lt; / RTI >
5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the voice of the first microphone is a voice of a speaker directly inputting the active microphone, and the voice of the second microphone is a voice of a speaker outputted through the active speaker, the active microphone being input.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the registration unit registers each microphone and speaker by acquiring device information and a device handler for each microphone and speaker connected to the conference participating device from each conference participating device.
The method according to claim 1,
The multi-party call participant device includes a multi-party call device including a plurality of microphones and a plurality of speakers, and a user terminal communicating with the multi-party call device to perform a multi-
Wherein the microphone of the conference creator or the device of the current speaker is set high and the speaker of the multi-party communication device is set to be higher than the speaker of the user terminal so that the listeners can listen to the high priority.
In a howling control method performed by a howling control device in a multiparty call system,
Registering a microphone and a speaker of the multi-party call participating device;
Performing a hauling test between each registered speaker and each microphone to detect a combination of a microphone and a speaker in which howling occurs;
Setting an active microphone and an active speaker in accordance with a preset priority without causing the detected combination; And
And monitoring howling is performed with respect to the active microphone and the active speaker when a multi-party call is made to determine whether or not howling occurs.
9. The method of claim 8,
And resetting the active microphone and the active speaker according to the priority, when the occurrence of the howling is detected, without causing a combination of the microphone and the speaker to detect the occurrence of howling.
9. The method of claim 8,
The step of detecting the combination of the microphone and the speaker, in which the howling occurs,
Controlling to output a test sound signal for each registered speaker,
Wherein a test sound signal of one speaker is activated for each microphone to detect a combination of a microphone and a speaker in which howling occurs.
9. The method of claim 8,
The method of claim 1,
Receiving a voice of the first micro microphone input from the corresponding device;
Converting the first microphone voice into text to generate a first sentence, and decomposing the generated first sentence to extract a first word;
Receiving the second microphone voice input from the corresponding device after a lapse of a predetermined time after the first microphone voice is input;
Converting the first microphone voice into text to generate a second sentence, and decomposing the generated second sentence to extract a first word;
Comparing the first word of the first sentence with the first word of the second sentence; And
If the first word of the first sentence matches the first word of the second sentence, determining that howling occurs.
12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the voice of the first microphone is a voice of a speaker directly inputting the active microphone, and the sound of the second microphone is a voice of a speaker outputted through the active speaker, the active microphone being input.
9. The method of claim 8,
The step of registering the microphone and the speaker of the multi-
And acquiring device information and a device handler for each microphone and each speaker connected to the conference participating device from each conference participating device.

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