WO2013042326A1

WO2013042326A1 - Sound reproduction device

Info

Publication number: WO2013042326A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/005586
Authority: WO
Inventors: 今野　文靖; 武田　克
Original assignee: パナソニック株式会社
Priority date: 2011-09-22
Filing date: 2012-09-04
Publication date: 2013-03-28
Also published as: WO2013042325A1; JPWO2013042324A1; WO2013042324A1

Abstract

This sound reproduction device has: a first speaker that has a directivity using the parametric effect; a second speaker having a directivity that is wider than that of the first speaker; a direction adjustment unit; an information acquisition device; and a drive control unit. On the basis of listener information, the drive control unit changes the direction of the first speaker by means of the direction adjustment unit in a manner so that the peak of the sound pressure of audible sound formed by the first speaker approaches the position of the listener and in a manner so that the acoustic field of audible sound of the first speaker and the acoustic field of audible sound of the second speaker overlap at the position of the listener.

Description

Sound reproduction device

The present invention relates to an audio reproduction apparatus using narrow directional speakers utilizing parametric effects.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a conventional sound reproducing apparatus 130. As shown in FIG. A speaker 111 which is a wide directional speaker and a superdirective speaker 113 which is a narrow directional speaker are disposed in parallel. As the distance d from the speaker 111 in the sound axis direction increases, the sound pressure of the audible sound decreases. The superdirective speaker 113 has a listening point 126 at which the sound pressure of the audible sound peaks at a predetermined distance dk in the sound axis direction from the superdirective speaker 113 (a position where the sound pressure is maximum). The sound field 123 of the audible sound of the speaker 111 and the sound field 125 of the audible sound of the superdirective speaker of the superdirective speaker 113 overlap at the listening point 126. The superdirective speaker 113 uses ultrasonic waves as a carrier wave.

The speaker 111 is electrically connected to a sound source 119 such as a television tuner, a CD player, a DVD player or the like through an amplification circuit 117. The superdirective speaker 113 is electrically connected to the sound source 119 via the drive circuit 121.

Next, the sound pressure characteristics of the sound reproduction device 130 will be described. FIG. 13A is a sound pressure characteristic diagram of an audible sound with respect to the distance d in the sound axis direction of the conventional sound reproducing apparatus 130. As shown in FIG. The relationship between the sound pressure of the audible sound of the speaker 111 and the superdirective speaker 113 with respect to the distance d in the direction (sound axis direction) from the position where the speaker 111 and superdirective speaker 113 are installed to the listening point 126 is shown. . The horizontal axis (the distance d in the sound axis direction) in FIG. 13A corresponds to a portion indicated by YY in FIG. Further, the vertical axis in FIG. 13A indicates the sound pressure normalized with the maximum sound pressure of the audible sound by the speaker 111 and the maximum sound pressure of the audible sound by the superdirective speaker 113 as one. The sound pressure of the audible sound of the speaker 111 is indicated by a dotted line, the sound pressure of the audible sound of the superdirective speaker 113 is indicated by a broken line, and the synthetic sound pressure is indicated by a solid line. As shown in FIG. 13A, the sound pressure of the audible sound of the speaker 111 is the largest at the position where the speaker 111 is installed, and attenuates as the distance d in the sound axis direction increases. On the other hand, although the sound pressure of the audible sound of superdirective speaker 113 is small at the position where superdirective speaker 113 is installed, it increases as distance d in the sound axis direction increases, and the peak value at predetermined distance dk Furthermore, as the distance d increases, the distance d decreases. Therefore, the sound pressure (synthetic sound pressure) in which the sound pressures of the audible sound of the speaker 111 and the superdirective speaker 113 overlap each other has a characteristic shown by the solid line in FIG. 13A. Here, in order for the synthetic sound pressure to have a peak effectively, it is desirable that the sound pressure of the audible sound by the superdirective speaker 113 be configured to have a portion where the sound pressure of the audible sound by the speaker 111 is larger.

Therefore, the audible sound emitted from the speaker 111 and the superdirective speaker 113 is most pronounced when the listener is positioned at the predetermined distance dk in the sound axis direction from the position where the respective speakers are installed, and the listener It becomes smaller as it deviates from the predetermined distance dk.

On the other hand, FIG. 13B shows the sound pressure characteristics of the audible sound of the distance w in the direction perpendicular to the sound axis, that is, the portion indicated by XX in FIG. The vertical axis in FIG. 13B is the same as the vertical axis in FIG. 13A. The sound pressure of the audible sound of the speaker 111 is indicated by a dotted line, the sound pressure of the audible sound of the superdirective speaker 113 is indicated by a broken line, and the synthetic sound pressure is indicated by a solid line. The sound pressure of the speaker 111 is maximum on the sound axis, and as the distance w in the direction perpendicular to the sound axis increases, the sound pressure gradually decreases. On the other hand, the sound radiated by the superdirective speaker 113 has high directivity. Therefore, in the superdirective speaker 113, the sound pressure on the sound axis becomes maximum, and the sound pressure decreases sharply as the distance w increases in the direction perpendicular to the sound axis. Therefore, the sound pressure (synthetic sound pressure) of the audible sound by the speaker 111 and the superdirective speaker 113 has the characteristic shown by the solid line in FIG. 13B.

The sound pressure characteristics of the audible sound in FIGS. 13A and 13B can be summarized as shown in FIG. The sound pressure peaks at the position of the listening point 126 both in the sound axis direction and in the direction perpendicular to the sound axis.

Further, the sound field realized by this sound reproducing apparatus is a sound field in which the sound field of the speaker 111 and the sound field of the audible sound by the superdirective speaker 113 in which the audible sound is reproduced using the ultrasonic wave as a carrier wave overlap. Therefore, compared with the sound field by usual speakers, the ratio with which the audible sound interferes is small. Therefore, the listener is less affected by the sound from the speaker 111, and can listen to the sound of the superdirective speaker 113 clearly.

From the above, the listener is surrounded by the sound only by the speaker 111 and the superdirective speaker 113 installed in one same direction with respect to the listener without arranging many speakers around the listener. It is possible to realize a three-dimensional sound field that makes you feel that it is

For example, Patent Document 1 is known as a sound reproduction device using the above-described wide directivity speaker and narrow directivity speaker.

International Publication No. 2012/32704

The sound reproducing apparatus according to the present invention includes a first speaker having directivity using a parametric effect, a second speaker having directivity wider than the first speaker, a direction adjusting unit, an information acquisition device, and drive control. Have a department. The direction adjustment unit changes the direction of the first speaker. The information acquisition device acquires information including the position of the listener. The drive control unit is electrically connected to the first speaker, the second speaker, the direction adjustment unit, and the information acquisition device. The drive control unit is configured to overlap the sound field of the first speaker's audible sound and the sound field of the second speaker's audible sound at the position of the listener based on the listener's information, and The direction adjustment unit changes the direction of the first speaker so that the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound formed by the speaker of the speaker approaches the position of the listener.

FIG. 1A is a schematic view of the configuration of a sound reproduction device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a block diagram of the sound reproduction device in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the positional relationship between the sound field and the listener by the sound reproduction device in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A is a schematic view of the configuration of another sound reproducing device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3B is a block diagram of another sound reproducing device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the positional relationship between the sound field and the listener when the number of listeners is equal to the number of superdirective speakers in the sound reproduction device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A is a conceptual diagram showing a positional relationship between a sound field and a listener when the number of listeners is larger than the number of superdirective speakers in the sound reproduction device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5B is a conceptual diagram showing the positional relationship between the sound field and the listener when the number of listeners is larger than the number of superdirective speakers in the sound reproduction device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is another conceptual diagram showing the positional relationship between the sound field and the listener when the number of listeners is larger than the number of superdirective speakers in the sound reproducing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is another conceptual diagram showing the positional relationship between the sound field and the listener when the number of listeners is larger than the number of superdirective speakers in the sound reproducing device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a first configuration of the sound reproduction device in the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of another sound reproducing apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another sound reproducing apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a schematic view of the configuration of a sound reproduction device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a conventional sound reproducing apparatus. FIG. 13A is a sound pressure characteristic diagram of an audible sound with respect to the distance d in the sound axis direction of the conventional sound reproducing device. FIG. 13B is a sound pressure characteristic view of an audible sound with respect to a distance w in a direction perpendicular to the sound axis direction of the conventional sound reproducing device. FIG. 14 is a sound pressure characteristic diagram of an audible sound with respect to the distance d in the sound axis direction and the distance w in the direction perpendicular to the sound axis direction of the conventional sound reproducing apparatus.

The conventional sound reproducing apparatus 130 can not effectively obtain a three-dimensional effect unless the listener is located near the listening point 126. That is, since the sound pressure by the speaker 111 and the superdirective speaker 113 has the characteristic shown in FIG. 14, when the listener is located at a position deviated from the listening point 126, the sound pressure is greatly reduced. Therefore, the sound field where the listener feels a sufficient three-dimensional effect can not be formed. Further, since the sound pressure by the speaker 111 and the superdirective speaker 113 is complicated as shown in FIG. 14, it is difficult for the listener to be located near the listening point 126.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of the configuration of the sound reproduction device 1 in the present embodiment. FIG. 1B is a block diagram of the sound reproduction device 1 in the present embodiment.

The sound reproducing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment has a superdirective speaker 3 (first speaker) having directivity using a parametric effect and a speaker 9 (second A speaker), a direction adjustment unit 5, an information acquisition device 11, and a drive control unit 13 are provided. The direction adjustment unit 5 changes the direction of the superdirective speaker 3. The information acquisition device 11 acquires information including the position of the listener. The drive control unit 13 is electrically connected to the superdirective speaker 3, the speaker 9, the direction adjustment unit 5, and the information acquisition device 11. The drive control unit 13 superposes on the basis of the information of the listener so that the sound field of the audible sound of the superdirective speaker 3 and the sound field of the audible sound of the speaker 9 overlap at the position of the listener and The direction adjustment unit 5 changes the direction of the superdirective speaker 3 so that the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound formed by the loud speaker 3 approaches the position of the listener. A superdirective speaker unit 7 is configured by the superdirective speaker 3 and the direction adjustment unit 5. In addition, the sound reproducing device 1 may further include an image display device 20.

In this embodiment, a narrow directional speaker using ultrasonic waves as a carrier wave is defined as superdirective speaker 3, and a normal speaker having wider directivity than a narrow directional speaker and using no ultrasonic waves as speaker 9 doing.

The speaker 9 has a characteristic that the sound pressure of the audible sound decreases as the sound pressure of the speaker 9 gets away from the speaker 9. The superdirective speaker 3 has a characteristic that the sound pressure of the audible sound has a peak at a predetermined distance from the superdirective speaker 3.

The drive control unit 13 controls the direction adjustment unit 5 so that the sound field of the audible sound of the superdirective speaker 3 and the sound field of the audible sound of the speaker 9 overlap at the position of the listener. Change direction. Furthermore, based on the listener information from the information acquisition device 11, the drive control unit 13 causes the position of the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound formed by the superdirective speaker 3 to be close to the position of the listener. The direction adjustment unit 5 changes the direction of the superdirective speaker 3. As a result, the listener can easily obtain a three-dimensional effect.

In general, when an acoustic wave is emitted to a medium such as air or water with an increased amplitude, as the acoustic wave travels through the medium, the elastic properties of the medium itself (volume change with respect to pressure change) become nonlinear rather than linear. Therefore, the waveform of the sound wave is distorted, and the sound wave has frequency components other than the original frequency component. This characteristic is called a parametric phenomenon of sound or parametric effect.

The superdirective speaker 3 utilizes this characteristic, and when the audible sound component is superimposed on the ultrasonic wave and emitted, it is affected by the non-linearity of the elastic property of the air, so that it travels through the air with the carrier wave. The waveform of an ultrasonic wave is distorted. Furthermore, in order to attenuate from the high frequency ultrasound component, the audible sound component superimposed on the ultrasound is reproduced at a low frequency with respect to the ultrasound. As a result, the sound pressure of the superdirective speaker 3 has a peak at a predetermined distance dk as described with reference to FIG. 13A.

On the other hand, in the normal speaker 9 that reproduces the audible sound as it is without using the ultrasonic wave, the sound pressure at the position of the speaker 9 is the largest, and the sound pressure increases as the distance from the speaker 9 increases. It becomes smaller.

Further, with regard to the directivity of sound waves, in general, the higher the frequency of the sound waves, the more the waves propagate without spreading from the sound axis, so the radiation angle becomes smaller and the directivity becomes higher. Therefore, the directivity of the sound wave emitted by the superdirective speaker 3 using an ultrasonic wave having a frequency higher than that of the audible sound as the carrier wave is high, and is generated in the process of the ultrasonic wave propagation under the influence of the non-linear characteristic of air. The directivity of the audible sound is also high.

The configuration of the first embodiment will be described more specifically below. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, in the present embodiment, two superdirective speakers 3 and two speakers 9 are provided.

The direction adjustment unit 5 is configured of a motor and a gear (not shown), and moves the superdirective speaker 3 vertically and horizontally as shown by thick arrows in FIG. 1A according to a signal from the drive control unit 13.

The information acquisition device 11 acquires listener information. In the present embodiment, image information of a listener (not shown) captured by a camera is acquired as listener information. The superdirective speaker 3, the direction adjustment unit 5, the speaker 9, and the information acquisition device 11 are each electrically connected to the drive control unit 13.

The drive control unit 13 determines the listener from the image information acquired by the information acquisition device 11 for the listener who is about to acquire audio information from the sound reproduction device 1.

The sound reproduction device 1 further includes an image display device 20. Here, the image display device 20 is configured of a display device such as a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, or an organic EL display. The image display device 20 may be a television with a built-in tuner. Further, in the present embodiment, the drive control unit 13 is incorporated in the image display device 20. The image display device 20 is electrically connected to the drive control unit 13.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the positional relationship between the sound field and the listener by the sound reproduction device 1 in the present embodiment. The positional relationship between the sound field and the listener by the superdirective speaker 3 and the speaker 9 constituting the sound reproducing device 1 is shown. In FIG. 2, the superdirective speaker 3 and the speaker 9 are shown as a schematic view as viewed from directly above. Then, regarding the positions of the superdirective speaker 3 and the speaker 9, the superdirective speaker 3 is described as being behind the speaker 9 and the image display device 20 is omitted in order to make the drawing easy to understand. .

As described above, since the superdirective speaker 3 has a narrow radiation angle, the sound field formed by the superdirective speaker 3 is a narrow range surrounded by a solid line in FIG. On the other hand, since the speaker 9 has a wider radiation angle of sound than the superdirective speaker 3, the sound field formed by the speaker 9 is in a wide range surrounded by a dotted line in FIG.

Therefore, the listener 30 can obtain a three-dimensional feeling of sound by the listener 30 being positioned in the part where the respective sound fields of the superdirective speaker 3 and the speaker 9 overlap.

Hereinafter, the operation of the sound reproducing apparatus 1 for obtaining such a three-dimensional effect will be described. First, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the direction adjustment unit 5 of the superdirective speaker unit 7 is attached to the top of the speaker 9. And the speaker 9 is attached to the image display apparatus 20 in the state which provided the clearance gap which can change the left-right direction of the super-directional speaker 3. FIG.

In the image display device 20, the optimum viewing position is determined in advance according to the screen size. Therefore, the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound formed by each of the plurality of superdirective speakers 3 is set at the viewing position, and the sound field of the audible sound formed by the speaker 9 is formed. At the time of shipping, the position of the superdirective speaker unit 7 is adjusted.

Therefore, when the listener 30 is at a predetermined distance dk from the superdirective speaker 3 to the ear of the listener 30, the listener 30 can acquire audio information having a three-dimensional effect.

Moreover, this three-dimensional effect is attributable to the fact that the audio information of the superdirective speaker 3 and the audio information of the speaker 9 do not easily interfere with each other. For the sound from the speaker 9 reproducing the audible sound, the superdirective speaker 3 uses the ultrasonic wave such as 40 kHz as a carrier wave, for example, by utilizing the non-linearity of the elastic property of the air. I'm playing. Therefore, the speaker 9 and the superdirective speaker 3 have a large difference in frequency as the main component, and are less likely to interfere with each other. Therefore, the listener 30 can hear the sound from the superdirective speaker 3 as a sound with less interference in the sound field of the speaker 9. From the characteristics of the speaker 9 and the superdirective speaker 3 as described above, when the listener 30 is at the position of the predetermined distance dk, the listener 30 can acquire audio information having a three-dimensional effect. The superdirective speaker 3 used in the present embodiment uses, as an example, one having a predetermined distance dk of approximately 2 m when the carrier frequency is 40 kHz.

Next, the case where the listener 30 slightly moves, for example, in the right direction from the position shown in FIG. 2 will be described. In this case, since the radiation angle of the sound of the superdirective speaker 3 is narrow, the listener 30 sounds as if the audio information from the superdirective speaker 3 suddenly becomes small.

Therefore, the drive control unit 13 first analyzes the image from the information acquisition device 11 by face recognition or the like to obtain the position of the listener 30. The drive control unit 13 stores various data such as the predetermined distance dk and the sound pressure characteristic of FIG. 13 in advance in a built-in memory (not shown). The drive control unit 13 obtains the distance to the listener based on the focusing operation of the image from the information acquisition device 11. At the same time, how much direction the listener is from the image center of the information acquisition device 11 is determined. Furthermore, the distance between the information acquisition device 11 and each superdirective speaker 3 is known and stored in the built-in memory. From these, the drive control unit 13 calculates the distance and direction from each superdirective speaker 3 to the listener.

Next, the drive control unit 13 causes the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound formed by the superdirective speaker 3 to be a predetermined distance dk from each superdirective speaker 3 closer to the position of the listener 30 To calculate how much each superdirective speaker 3 should be moved. That is, the drive control unit 13 calculates how much the superdirective speaker 3 should be moved based on the position of the listener 30 and various data stored in the built-in memory.

Furthermore, based on the sound pressure characteristics of FIG. 13, the drive control unit 13 detects the sound field of the audible sound formed by the speaker 9 and the audible sound formed by the superdirective speaker 3 at a distance to the listener. In order to make the sound fields overlap at the position of the listener 30, it is calculated how much each superdirective speaker 3 should be moved. Then, the drive control unit 13 outputs a control signal to each direction adjustment unit 5. As a result, each direction adjustment unit 5 directs each superdirective speaker 3 in a direction based on the above various calculation results by the drive control unit 13. By such an operation, even if the listener 30 moves during listening, a three-dimensional effect can be easily obtained.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since two superdirective speaker units 7 are provided, the audio information of another sound source can be reproduced at the left and right ears of the listener 30. As a result, even if the listener 30 moves, it is possible to maintain the surround effect in which the listener 30 is surrounded by the audio information, together with the outputs of the two speakers 9.

As described above, even the sound pressure characteristic formed by one pair of the superdirective speaker 3 and the speaker 9 is complicated as shown in FIG. Furthermore, if there are two pairs of the superdirective speaker 3 and the speaker 9, the sound pressure characteristic becomes more complicated, and it becomes more difficult for the listener 30 to be positioned at the optimum listening point in each pair. In the first embodiment, the drive control unit 13 automatically adjusts the directions of the two superdirective speakers 3 in accordance with the movement of the listener 30. Therefore, even if a plurality of superdirective speaker units 7 are installed, a three-dimensional effect and a surround effect can be easily obtained.

Also, depending on whether the listener 30 is sitting on a chair or sitting on the floor, or depending on the height of the listener 30, the drive control unit 13 also moves the superdirective speaker 3 in the vertical direction of the thick arrow in FIG. I need to move it. Also in this case, the drive control unit 13 recognizes the position of the listener 30 and moves the superdirective speaker 3 in the vertical direction to control in the same manner as described above. Also by such an operation, the listener 30 can easily obtain a three-dimensional effect.

Note that the drive control unit 13 constantly monitors the movement of the listener 30 by the information acquisition device 11, and automatically controls the superdirective speaker 3 vertically and horizontally in accordance with the movement of the listener 30, if the listener 30 moves. Do.

Here, in order to perform the above-mentioned operation, the direction adjusting unit 5 has a function of outputting to which direction the superdirective speaker 3 currently faces, to the drive control unit 13, and a control signal from the drive control unit 13. In response to the above, it has a function for outputting how much the superdirective speaker 3 is actually moved, that is, an angle output function. Specifically, the direction adjustment unit 5 is provided with a potentiometer (not shown) on the rotation axis for driving the superdirective speaker 3. Thereby, the current angle and the angle actually moved are output from the direction adjustment unit 5 to the drive control unit 13.

However, the angle output function is not limited to the potentiometer, and may be based on other principles such as optically detecting the angle.

With the above configuration and operation, the drive control unit 13 determines the position (listening point) of the listener based on the listener information from the information acquisition device 11, and each position is closer to the predetermined distance dk. The direction of the directional speaker 3 is adjusted. As a result, the directions of the plurality of superdirective speakers 3 are automatically adjusted according to the position of the listener. Therefore, the listener 30 can easily obtain a three-dimensional effect.

Although the configuration in which the image display device 20 is included in the sound reproduction device 1 has been described in the present embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and the configuration without the image display device 20 may be employed. A schematic diagram of such a sound reproducing apparatus is shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. FIG. 3A is a schematic view of the configuration of another sound reproduction device 55 in the present embodiment. FIG. 3B is a block diagram of another sound reproduction device 55 in the present embodiment. Components of the sound reproduction device 55 other than the image display device 20 are the same as those of the sound reproduction device 1.

The sound reproduction device 55 can be installed in an existing television or personal computer, installed in an audio device, or the like. Therefore, the listener can easily obtain a three-dimensional effect by adding the audio reproduction device 55 to the existing audiovisual apparatus.

Moreover, although the case where two superdirective speaker units 7 were used was described in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more superdirective speaker units 7 may be used. In this case, the direction control unit 5 included in each superdirective speaker unit 7 causes the drive control unit 13 to perform complicated and delicate direction adjustment of the multiple superdirective speakers 3 toward the listener 30, The listener 30 can easily obtain a three-dimensional effect even with the sound reproduction device 1 having the superdirective speaker 3 of the above.

Even in the case where there is only one superdirective speaker unit 7, the listener 30 can obtain audio information with a three-dimensional effect. However, in order to more effectively reproduce the three-dimensional effect having the surround effect as described above, it is preferable to provide a plurality of superdirective speaker units 7.

Further, in the present embodiment, two speakers 9 are provided as in the superdirective speaker unit 7. However, for example, only the subwoofer in the surround sound system may be the speaker 9, and the others may be the superdirective speaker 3. In this case, the number of speakers 9 is one. Also, three or more speakers 9 may be used.

Moreover, although the camera was used as the information acquisition apparatus 11 in this Embodiment, this invention is not limited to this. As long as the position of the listener 30 can be detected, the position of the listener 30 may be detected by temperature, for example, an infrared sensor.

Second Embodiment
Hereinafter, the sound reproduction device 1 of the present embodiment will be described. The configuration of the sound reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of FIGS. 1A and 1B and FIGS. 3A and 3B described in the first embodiment, and thus the detailed description thereof is omitted.

As described in the first embodiment, the optimum viewing position is determined in advance in accordance with the screen size of the image display device 20. At the time of factory shipment, the sound field of the audible sound formed by the speaker 9 and the sound field of each audible sound formed by the plurality of superdirective speakers 3 overlap at the position (viewing position) of the listener. The position of the directional speaker unit 7 is adjusted. Further, the position of the superdirective speaker unit 7 is adjusted so that the sound pressure of the audible sound by each of the superdirective speakers 3 has a portion where the sound pressure of the audible sound by the superdirective speaker 3 becomes larger than the sound pressure of the audible sound by the speaker 9 It is done. This is superdirectivity so that in FIG. 13A, the viewing position comes to the part where the superdirective speaker sound pressure is larger than the speaker sound pressure, that is, to the right (the side where the distance d is larger) than the intersection of the sound pressure characteristics of both. The position of the speaker unit 7 is adjusted. Therefore, when the listener is at the viewing position, the listener is in a portion where the sound pressure of the audible sound of each superdirective speaker 3 is larger than the sound pressure of the audible sound by the speaker 9. Can effectively listen to the voice information of Furthermore, as described in the first embodiment, the interference between the sound of the speaker 9 and the sound of each superdirective speaker 3 is small. From these things, the listener can acquire audio information with a three-dimensional effect.

Next, it is assumed that the listener moves a little to the right of the image display device 20, for example. In this case, since the radiation angle of the sound of the superdirective speaker 3 is narrow, it sounds to the listener that the audio information from the superdirective speaker 3 suddenly becomes small.

Therefore, the drive control unit 13 first analyzes the image from the information acquisition device 11 by face recognition or the like to obtain the position of the listener. Next, the drive control unit 13 causes the sound field of the audible sound formed by the speaker 9 and the sound field of the audible sound formed by each of the plurality of superdirective speakers 3 to overlap at the position of the listener. Calculate how much each superdirectional speaker 3 should be moved. Also, it is calculated how much each superdirective speaker 3 should be moved in order to make the sound pressure from each superdirective speaker 3 larger than the sound pressure from the speaker 9 at the position of the listener. Do.

Specifically, the drive control unit 13 calculates as follows. First, as in the first embodiment, the drive control unit 13 stores various data such as the sound pressure characteristic of FIG. 13 in the built-in memory in advance. Next, the drive control unit 13 obtains the distance to the listener based on the focusing operation of the image from the information acquisition device 11. At the same time, how much direction the listener is from the image center of the information acquisition device 11 is determined. Furthermore, the distance between the information acquisition device 11 and each superdirective speaker 3 is known and stored in the built-in memory. From these, the drive control unit 13 can calculate the distance and direction from each superdirective speaker 3 to the listener. Then, based on the sound pressure characteristics of FIG. 13, the drive control unit 13 is formed by the sound field of the audible sound formed by the speaker 9 and the plurality of superdirective speakers 3 at a distance to the listener. So that the sound pressure from each superdirective speaker 3 is greater than the sound pressure from each speaker 9 so that each superdirective speaker 3 is overlapped Calculate if you should move it.

Then, the drive control unit 13 outputs a control signal to the direction adjustment unit 5. As a result, the direction adjustment unit 5 directs each superdirective speaker 3 in the direction based on the calculation result by the drive control unit 13.

By such an operation, even if the listener moves, the drive control unit 13 controls the direction adjustment unit 5 based on the listener information from the information acquisition device 11, that is, information on where the listener has moved. . Therefore, the listener can easily obtain a three-dimensional effect even if he moves during listening.

In the above description, although the case where the drive control unit 13 moves each superdirective speaker 3 in the right direction has been described, similarly, depending on the position of the listener, or according to the height difference, etc. The control unit 13 moves the superdirective speakers 3 vertically and horizontally for control.

Also in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the drive control unit 13 constantly monitors the movement of the listener by the information acquisition device 11, and if the listener moves, the drive control unit 13 The superdirective speakers 3 are automatically controlled vertically and horizontally.

In the first embodiment, the direction of each superdirective speaker 3 is controlled such that the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound of the plurality of superdirective speaker units 7 becomes closer to the position of the listener. As a result, the listener can obtain a three-dimensional effect of sound. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the drive control unit 13 sets each superdirectivity so that the sound pressure from each superdirective speaker 3 becomes larger than the sound pressure from the speaker 9 at the position of the listener. The direction of the speaker 3 is controlled. As a result, even if the listener is not always near the position of the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound of the superdirective speaker, a three-dimensional effect can be obtained, if not as in the first embodiment. Further, in the present embodiment, the degree of freedom of adjustment is increased compared to the first embodiment.

Therefore, whether the configuration and operation of Embodiment 1 which can obtain a three-dimensional effect more advantageously or whether the configuration and operation of this embodiment having a high degree of freedom of adjustment are adopted are applications of the sound reproducing apparatus. It may be appropriately selected according to the device and application environment.

In addition, since Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 have the same configuration and only a part of the operation is different, depending on the situation, when the listener is near the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound of the superdirective speaker The operation of the second embodiment may be applicable when the operation of the first embodiment is at a position deviated from the peak.

Also in the present embodiment, the configuration shown in FIG. 3 described in the first embodiment, that is, the configuration without the image display device 20 may be adopted. Also in this case, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

Also in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the number of speakers 9 and superdirective speakers 3 is not limited to two each.

Third Embodiment
Hereinafter, the sound reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7. The configuration of the sound reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, or FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B described in the first embodiment, and thus the detailed description thereof is omitted. Further, in FIGS. 4 to 7, the information acquisition device 11, the drive control unit 13, the direction adjustment unit 5, and the image display device 20 are omitted.

The drive control unit 13 of the sound reproduction device 1 according to the present embodiment detects the number and position of the listener based on the listener information, and if the number of listeners is equal to the number of superdirective speakers 3, each superdirectivity If the number of listeners is not equal to the number of superdirective speakers 3, each superdirective speaker 3 is controlled by associating the speakers 3 with the respective listeners on a one-to-one basis. Each direction adjustment unit 5 is controlled in a one-to-one correspondence with one of the listeners.

Thereby, the audio information of each superdirective speaker 3 can be delivered to as many listeners as possible. Therefore, a plurality of listeners can easily obtain a three-dimensional effect.

Hereinafter, the operation of the sound reproducing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described in more detail as Examples 1 to 4.

Example 1
FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the positional relationship between the sound field and the listener when the number of listeners is equal to the number of superdirective speakers in the sound reproduction device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a conceptual view of superdirective speaker 3 and speaker 9 as viewed from above. FIG. 4 shows the case where there are two listeners. Here, the listener on the left side of FIG. 4 is referred to as the left listener 31, and the listener on the right side is referred to as the right listener 33.

In FIG. 4, the number of listeners and the number of superdirective speakers 3 are equal. The operation of the drive control unit 13 in this case will be described below.

The drive control unit 13 recognizes the listener's face from the image obtained from the information acquisition device 11. Then, it is determined how many listeners are located.

Next, if the drive control unit 13 determines that the number of listeners is equal to the number of superdirective speakers 3, each superdirective speaker 3 and each listener are associated with each other on a one-to-one basis, and each direction is determined. The adjustment unit 5 is controlled. Specifically, in FIG. 4, the drive control unit 13 controls the left superdirective speaker 3 in the direction of the left listener 31 and the right superdirective speaker 3 in the right listener 33 by the direction adjustment unit 5. Turn in the direction. The control of each direction adjustment unit 5 at this time is similar to the control of the first embodiment or the second embodiment. By such an operation, the left listener 31 and the right listener 33 can easily obtain a three-dimensional effect.

In FIG. 4, the audio information of the super-directional speaker 3 on the left side is mainly heard by the left listener 31 and hardly heard by the right listener 33. Therefore, the left listener 31 can hear the audio information of the superdirective speaker 3 on the left and the audio information of the two speakers 9. Therefore, the left listener 31 can easily listen to three-dimensional audio information, although this is not as much as when the listener 30 can hear the audio information of the two superdirective speakers 3 as shown in FIG. The same applies to the right listener 33.

In this way, when the number of listeners and the number of superdirective speakers 3 are equal, controlling the direction of the superdirective speakers 3 so as to correspond one-to-one with each other makes it easy for all of a plurality of listeners Listen to audio information with a three-dimensional feel.

(Example 2)
Next, the case where the number of listeners is not equal to the number of superdirective speakers will be described. 5A and 5B are conceptual diagrams showing the positional relationship between the sound field and the listener when the number of listeners is larger than the number of superdirective speakers in the sound reproduction device according to the present embodiment. If the drive control unit 13 determines that the number of superdirective speakers is smaller than the number of listeners, the drive control unit 13 sets each superdirective speaker 3 to one to one of the listeners. And each direction adjusting unit 5 is controlled. The following describes which listener the drive control unit 13 selects.

First, as shown in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, the case where there are three listeners, the left listener 31, the center listener 35, and the right listener 33, will be described. All listeners are in the sound field of the audible sound formed by the speaker 9. Also, all listeners are at the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound formed by each of the plurality of superdirective speakers 3. That is, the left listener 31 is at the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound of the superdirective speaker 3 on the left. In the case of FIG. 5A, the central listener 35 is located at the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound of the superdirective speaker 3 on the right side. In the case of FIG. 5B, the right listener 33 is located at the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound of the superdirective speaker 3 on the right. In this case, the drive control unit 13 controls the direction adjustment unit 5 by associating any two listeners with the superdirective speaker 3 on a one-to-one basis. FIG. 5A shows a case where the drive control unit 13 selects the left listener 31 and the center listener 35. In this case, the left listener 31 and the central listener 35 can easily listen to audio information with a three-dimensional effect. FIG. 5B shows a case where the drive control unit 13 selects the left listener 31 and the right listener 33. In this case, the left listener 31 and the right listener 33 can easily listen to audio information having a three-dimensional effect.

Even when all the members are in positions where the sound pressure of the audible sound from each of the superdirective speakers 3 is larger than the sound pressure of the audible sound from the speaker 9, the drive control unit 13 is a listener of any two people Are selected to correspond to the superdirective speaker 3 in a one-to-one relationship, and the direction adjustment unit 5 is controlled. By such an operation, the listener can easily listen to three-dimensional sound information.

(Example 3)
FIG. 6 is another conceptual diagram showing the positional relationship between the sound field and the listener when the number of listeners is larger than the number of superdirective speakers in the sound reproduction device according to the present embodiment. The case where there are three listeners and the left listener 31 and the center listener 35 are at the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound formed by each of the plurality of superdirective speaker units 7 will be described. In this case, the right listener 33 is out of the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound of the superdirective speaker. Therefore, even if the superdirective speaker 3 is directed to the right listener 33, there is a possibility that a sufficient three-dimensional effect of audio information can not be obtained.

The drive control unit 13 first obtains the distance between the three listeners and the superdirective speaker 3 based on the listener information. The method of determining the distance is the same as the method described in the first embodiment. Next, the drive control unit 13 associates the superdirective speakers 3 one by one in order from the listener located at a position closer to the predetermined distance dk from the superdirective speaker 3. Then, the drive control unit 13 controls the direction adjustment unit 5 so that the superdirective speaker 3 is directed to the associated listener.

The drive control unit 13 automatically directs the superdirective speaker 3 to the left listener 31 and the center listener 35 who can effectively obtain the stereoscopic effect of the audio signal. As a result, the left listener 31 and the center listener 35 can easily listen to audio information with a three-dimensional effect.

In FIG. 6, the drive control unit 13 associates the superdirective speakers 3 one by one in order from the listener located at a position close to the predetermined distance dk from the superdirective speaker 3. The association is not limited to the predetermined distance dk. The listeners in the position where the sound pressure of the audible sound by each of the superdirective speakers 3 is larger than the sound pressure of the audible sound by the speakers 9 may be associated with each superdirective speaker 3 in a one-to-one manner . In this case, the position at which the sound pressure of the audible sound by each of the superdirective speakers 3 is larger than the sound pressure of the audible sound by the speaker 9 is a predetermined distance, as described in the second embodiment. 6A corresponds to a portion where the distance d is larger than the intersection of the speaker sound pressure characteristics and the superdirective speaker sound pressure characteristics of FIG. 13A, the right listener 33 of FIG. 6 may also satisfy the condition. In this case, as shown in FIG. 13A, the synthetic sound pressure decreases as the distance d increases, so the volume decreases at the position of the right listener 33, although a three-dimensional effect can be obtained. Therefore, the drive control unit 13 may select a listener at a position where the synthetic sound pressure is large.

(Example 4)
FIG. 7 is another conceptual diagram showing the positional relationship between the sound field and the listener when the number of listeners is larger than the number of superdirective speakers in the sound reproduction device of the present embodiment. The configuration of the fourth embodiment is the same as that of the second embodiment, but the selection method of the listener is different. When a plurality of listeners are located at a predetermined distance dk according to the listener information, the drive control unit 13 associates the superdirective speakers 3 with listeners with high priority registered in advance, and adjusts the direction adjustment unit. Control 5 Thus, when there are a large number of listeners at positions where a three-dimensional effect can be obtained, superdirective speakers 3 can be associated from listeners with high priority. Therefore, even if the positions of the listeners are switched, listeners with high priority can stably receive three-dimensional sound information. In addition, when a high priority listener leaves the seat, the drive control unit 13 controls each direction adjustment unit 5 to direct the superdirective speaker 3 to the next high priority listener. This allows the listener to obtain three-dimensional sound information according to the priority.

Note that the listener's priority is registered in advance in the drive control unit 13 based on the image obtained from the information acquisition device 11.

Further, in FIG. 7, the drive control unit 13 associates the two superdirective speakers 3 with each other so as to be directed to the central listener 35 having high priority. Therefore, only the central listener 35 can listen to audio information having a three-dimensional effect. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the drive control unit 13 controls the direction adjustment unit 5 by associating the two superdirective speakers 3 with the two listeners in the order of priority. You may do it. As a result, although the surround effect is slightly weakened, as many listeners as possible can obtain sound information with a three-dimensional effect.

Note that, in FIG. 7, the drive control unit 13 associates the superdirective speaker 3 with a listener having a high priority and located at a position close to the predetermined distance dk from the superdirective speaker 3. The association is not limited to the predetermined distance dk. That is, the superdirective speakers 3 are associated in order from the listener with the highest priority in the position where the sound pressure of the audible sound by each of the superdirective speakers 3 becomes larger than the sound pressure of the audible sound by the speaker 9 It is also good. In this case, the position at which the sound pressure of the audible sound by each of the superdirective speakers 3 becomes larger than the sound pressure of the audible sound by the speaker 9 is a predetermined distance, which corresponds to the speaker sound pressure characteristic of FIG. This corresponds to a portion where the distance d is larger than the intersection point of the directional speaker sound pressure characteristics. Therefore, the drive control unit 13 may select a listener with a high priority from the listeners who are at the position that satisfies the above condition. Then, the drive control unit 13 controls the direction adjustment unit 5 by associating the selected listener with the superdirective speaker 3. With such an operation as well, high-priority listeners can easily listen to three-dimensional sound information.

Next, when the number of listeners is smaller than the number of superdirective speakers 3, for example, as described in FIG. 2, the drive control unit 13 associates the two superdirective speakers 3 with the listener 30. And each direction adjustment unit 5 may be controlled. As a result, the listener 30 can effectively obtain a surround effect and can easily listen to three-dimensional sound information.

For example, in the case where the number of listeners is two and the number of superdirective speakers 3 is three, the drive control unit 13 is an arbitrary listener, a listener at a position near a predetermined distance, or a priority Select a high listener, and associate that listener with two of the three superdirective speakers 3 on a one-to-one basis, and associate the remaining one superdirective speaker 3 with any of the listeners Then, the direction adjustment unit 5 may be controlled. As described above, the drive control unit 13 controls the direction adjustment units 5 so that the superdirective speaker 3 does not correspond to any listener. As a result, since the audio information from the superdirective speaker 3 reaches the listener, the superdirective speaker 3 is effectively used.

The number of listeners and the number of superdirective speakers 3 are not limited to those described above.

With the above configuration and operation, the audio information of each superdirective speaker 3 can be delivered to as many listeners as possible. Therefore, a plurality of listeners who are listening to audio information can easily obtain a three-dimensional effect.

Embodiment 4
The

sound reproducing devices

200, 210, and 220 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The

sound reproduction devices

200, 210, and 220 in the present embodiment are characterized in that the notification unit 40 is added to the sound reproduction device 1 of the first embodiment. Also, it is a feature that the listener changes the direction of the superdirective speaker 3. In the configuration of the sound reproduction device in the present embodiment, the same components as in the first embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals and detailed explanations thereof will be omitted.

The

sound reproduction devices

200, 210, and 220 according to the present embodiment include the superdirective speaker 3 utilizing the parametric effect, the speaker 9 having a wider directivity than the superdirective speaker 3, the superdirective speaker 3 and the speaker 9 , And an information acquisition device 11 for acquiring listener information of a listener who intends to acquire audio information. Furthermore, the

sound reproduction devices

200, 210, and 220 each include a notification unit 40 for transmitting direction adjustment information of the superdirective speaker 3 to the listener, the superdirective speaker 3, the speaker 9, the information acquisition device 11, and the notification unit 40. It has a drive control unit 13 electrically connected, and a direction adjustment unit 5 mechanically connected to the superdirective speaker 3.

Here, the speaker 9 has a characteristic that the sound pressure of the audible sound becomes smaller as it is separated from the speaker 9, and the superdirective speaker 3 has a predetermined sound pressure of the audible sound from the superdirective speaker 3 And has a characteristic having a peak.

The drive control unit 13 determines the position of the listener based on the listener information from the information acquisition device 11 and adjusts the superdirective speaker 3 because the position (listening point) becomes the predetermined distance dk. That is, the direction adjustment information is transmitted to the notification unit 40. Based on the direction adjustment information transmitted to the notification unit 40, the listener forms the superdirective speaker 3 in a range where the sound field of the audible sound of the superdirective speaker 3 and the sound field of the audible sound of the speaker 9 overlap. The direction adjustment unit 5 changes the direction of the superdirective speaker 3 so that the position of the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound to be generated is closer to the position of the listener. Thus, the listener can easily obtain a three-dimensional effect.

Hereinafter, the

sound reproduction devices

200, 210, and 220 in the present embodiment will be described more specifically.

Example 1
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the configuration of the sound reproduction device 200 in the present embodiment. The features of the configuration of the sound reproduction device 200 of the present embodiment are as follows. The direction adjustment unit 5 is not configured to be driven by a motor as in the first embodiment, and is manually adjusted by the listener. However, a potentiometer is incorporated in the direction adjustment unit 5, and the potentiometer is electrically connected to the drive control unit 13. The sound reproduction device 200 includes a notification unit 40 that transmits direction adjustment information, which is a direction in which the superdirective speaker 3 is adjusted, to a listener. In FIG. 8, the notification unit 40 includes the image display device 20. Therefore, the direction adjustment information is displayed on the screen of the image display device 20.

Next, an operation that is a feature of the sound reproduction device 200 according to the present embodiment will be described. Detailed description of the same operation as that of the first embodiment will be omitted.

First, when outputting the audio information, the drive control unit 13 obtains the position of the listener based on the listener information from the information acquisition device 11.

Next, the drive control unit 13 sets the sound pressure of the audible sound formed by the superdirectional speaker 3 in a range where the sound field of the audible sound of the superdirective speaker 3 and the sound field of the audible sound of the speaker 9 overlap. In order to bring the position of the peak closer to the position of the listener, it is determined in what direction and how much the superdirective speaker 3 should be moved. These are the same as in the first embodiment. Information indicating how much the superdirectional speaker 3 should be moved in what direction is referred to as direction adjustment information. Since the direction adjustment unit 5 has a built-in potentiometer, it can be understood from what direction the current superdirective speaker 3 should move in what direction. In FIG. 8, as in FIG. 1, since two superdirective speakers 3 are provided, the drive control unit 13 obtains direction adjustment information for each superdirective speaker 3.

Next, the drive control unit 13 processes the obtained direction adjustment information into image information and outputs the image information to the notification unit 40. In the present embodiment, as described above, since the notification unit 40 includes the image display device 20, the direction adjustment information processed into the image information is displayed on the image display device 20.

An example of the display is shown in FIG. For example, for the super-directional speaker 3 of the left channel, an arrow pointing upward to the left is displayed. The listener sees this, and the direction adjustment unit 5 moves the superdirective speaker 3 of the left channel in the upper left direction.

At this time, the drive control unit 13 detects how much the superdirective speaker 3 is moved in which direction by the signal from the potentiometer. Then, when the direction of the superdirective speaker 3 approaches the direction in which the superdirective speaker 3 should be directed, the drive control unit 13 shortens the length of the arrow displayed on the notification unit 40. Then, when the direction of the superdirective speaker 3 matches the direction in which the superdirective speaker 3 should be directed, the drive control unit 13 sets the arrow of the notification unit 40 as a circle mark. Conversely, when the direction of the superdirective speaker 3 is away from the direction in which the superdirective speaker 3 is to be directed, the drive control unit 13 lengthens the length of the arrow displayed on the notification unit 40. When the direction of the superdirective speaker 3 deviates from the direction in which the superdirective speaker 3 is to be directed, the drive control unit 13 changes the direction of the arrow. The listener can easily adjust the direction of the superdirective speaker 3 by repeating such an operation.

Similarly, an arrow is displayed to the right in FIG. 8 for the superdirective speaker 3 of the right channel. In response to this, the listener can easily adjust the direction by moving the direction of the superdirective speaker 3 of the right channel to the right. Thus, when the adjustment is completed, the listener can easily hear the audio information from which the three-dimensional effect can be obtained by returning to the position where the listener first sat down.

Further, according to the present embodiment, since the motor incorporated in the direction adjustment unit 5 of the superdirective speaker 3 according to the first embodiment is not necessary, the cost can be reduced.

Although cost may be incurred, the direction adjustment unit 15 may be configured to incorporate a motor, and the listener may adjust the superdirective speaker 3 in the direction instructed by the notification unit 40 using a remote controller or the like.

(Example 2)
FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the configuration of the sound reproduction device 210 in the present embodiment. The difference between the sound reproduction device 210 of this embodiment and the sound reproduction device 200 shown in FIG. 8 is that the notification unit 40 does not have the image display device 20 but also serves as the speaker 9. That is, the direction adjustment information of the superdirective speaker 3 is output from the speaker 9 as sound.

The operation of the sound reproducing apparatus 210 will be described with reference to FIG. 9, focusing on parts different from the first configuration. First, an operation in which the drive control unit 13 determines the position of the listener and obtains direction adjustment information of the superdirective speaker 3 is the same as that of the sound reproduction device 200.

Next, from the direction adjustment information, the drive control unit 13 converts into which direction the superdirective speaker 3 should be moved into a voice signal by voice synthesis. Then, the audio signal is reproduced from the speaker 9.

The listener adjusts the direction of the superdirective speaker 3 by the direction adjusting unit 5 in accordance with the reproduced audio signal. Specifically, when the drive control unit 13 requests that the superdirectional speaker 3 for the left channel should be moved in the upper left direction, the drive control unit 13 outputs an audio signal saying "move the left channel in the upper left direction" Reproduce. The listener moves the superdirective speaker 3 of the left channel in the upper left direction according to the audio signal. At this time, the moved amount is detected by the potentiometer. Then, the drive control unit 13 determines, every predetermined period (for example, 3 seconds), whether or not the superdirective speaker 3 has reached a direction to be adjusted. If the direction to be adjusted is reached, the drive control unit 13 reproduces from the speaker 9 an audio signal that "the adjustment of the left channel is completed". On the other hand, if the direction to be adjusted is not reached, the direction adjustment information is obtained again, converted into an audio signal, and the operation of reproducing from the speaker 9 is repeated for each predetermined period.

Similarly, the listener adjusts the super-directional speaker 3 of the right channel according to the audio signal from the speaker 9.

By such an operation, the listener can easily adjust the direction of the superdirective speaker 3.

Thereafter, when the adjustment is finished, the listener can easily hear the audio information from which the three-dimensional effect can be obtained by returning to the position where the listener first sat down.

While the listener manually adjusts the direction of the superdirective speaker 3, the listener is located near the superdirective speaker 3. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13A, since the superdirective speaker sound pressure decreases if the distance d is smaller than the predetermined distance dk, when the audio signal (direction adjustment signal) is reproduced from the superdirective speaker 3, the listener It may not be heard enough. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 13B, the superdirective speaker sound pressure drops sharply as it moves away from the center of the superdirective speaker 3 in the left and right direction, so when the listener adjusts the direction of the superdirective speaker 3. If the audio signal is reproduced from the superdirective speaker 3 when it is at a position slightly deviated from the front of the superdirective speaker 3, the listener may not be able to hear enough. From these things, it is better to reproduce the audio signal from the speaker 9 having a wider directivity than the superdirective speaker 3.

Note that the listener may adjust the superdirective speaker 3 with a remote controller or the like without manually adjusting it.

Further, the configuration shown in the present embodiment can be applied to the sound reproduction device 55 shown in FIG. 3 because the listener can adjust the direction of the superdirective speaker 3 without the image display device 20.

(Example 3)
FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the configuration of the sound reproduction device 220 in the present embodiment. A portion of the sound reproducing device 220 of the present embodiment which differs from the sound reproducing device 200 shown in FIG. 8 is that the image display device 20 is not provided, and the notification unit 40 is provided in the drive control unit 13.

The operation of the sound reproducing device 220 will be described with reference to FIG. 10, focusing on parts different from the first configuration.

First, an operation in which the drive control unit 13 determines the position of the listener and obtains direction adjustment information of the superdirective speaker 3 is the same as that of the sound reproduction device 200.

Next, the drive control unit 13 outputs, to the notification unit 40, direction adjustment information as to which direction the superdirective speaker 3 should be moved. The notification unit 40 is configured of, for example, eight (eight directions) light emitting diodes having an arrow shape, a liquid crystal display panel, or the like. The arrow shapes in the eight directions are respectively provided on the left and right of the notification unit 40. Then, the notification unit 40 is electrically connected to the drive control unit 13. That is, the notification unit 40 includes the display device 50, and the direction adjustment information is output to the display device 50.

The listener adjusts the direction of the superdirective speaker 3 by the direction adjustment unit 5 in accordance with the arrow of the displayed notification unit 40. First, when the drive control unit 13 determines that the superdirectional speaker 3 in the left channel should be moved in the upper left direction, the drive control unit 13 displays an arrow in the upper left direction on the left side of the notification unit 40 on the display device 50. The listener moves the superdirective speaker 3 of the left channel in the upper left direction according to the arrow display. At this time, the moved amount is detected by the potentiometer. Then, the drive control unit 13 immediately determines whether the superdirective speaker 3 has reached a direction to be adjusted. If the direction to be adjusted is reached, the drive control unit 13 blinks all arrow displays simultaneously for a fixed period and then turns off. On the other hand, if the direction to be adjusted is not reached, the drive control unit 13 obtains direction adjustment information again. Then, if it is closer to the direction to be adjusted than the previous time, the drive control unit 13 updates and blinks the arrow in the direction to be adjusted. In addition, when moving away from the direction to be adjusted, the drive control unit 13 updates the arrow in the direction to be adjusted and always lights up. The drive control unit 13 repeats the above operation.

Similarly, the listener adjusts the super-directional speaker 3 of the right channel in accordance with the display of the eight directional arrows on the right side of the notification unit 40. With such an operation, the listener can easily adjust the direction of the superdirective speaker 3.

Thereafter, when the adjustment is finished, the listener can easily listen to the audio information from which the three-dimensional effect can be obtained by returning to the position where the listener first sat down.

With the configuration of the notification unit 40 as described above, it is possible to realize the sound reproduction device 1 capable of easily listening to sound information from which a three-dimensional effect can be obtained, even if the image display device 20 is not provided.

The sound of the audible sound formed by the superdirective speaker 3 by the listener adjusting the direction of the superdirective speaker 3 based on the direction adjustment information transmitted to the notification unit 40 by the above configuration and operation. The direction of the superdirective speaker 3 is adjusted so that the pressure peak is close to the listener's position. From this, the listener can easily obtain a three-dimensional effect.

As is clear from the above description, in the sound reproduction device according to the present embodiment, the operation of the direction adjustment unit 5 of the sound reproduction device 1 according to the first embodiment is changed from electric adjustment to manual adjustment by the listener. It is a thing. Therefore, the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except for the part related to the direction adjustment.

Further, the direction adjustment information displayed on the image display device 20 described in the present embodiment, the direction adjustment information reproduced by the speaker 9, and the direction adjustment information displayed on the notification unit 40 are all examples. The present invention is not limited to these. Other image information and audio information may be used as long as the expression is easy for the listener to understand, and the direction adjustment information may be transmitted by another method (for example, vibration feedback structure).

Further, the structure of the sound reproducing device described in the present embodiment may be combined. For example, by combining the structures of the sound reproduction device 200 and the sound reproduction device 210, the image information and the sound information may be simultaneously transmitted to the listener.

The image display device 20 and the display device 50 are referred to as a display unit. That is, the notification unit 40 may have a display unit, and the direction adjustment information may be output to the display unit.

Fifth Embodiment
The configuration of the sound reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment is the same as that of the sound reproducing apparatus of FIGS. 8 to 10 described in the fourth embodiment, and thus the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Hereinafter, an operation which is a feature of the sound reproducing apparatus 210 according to the present embodiment will be described.

When outputting the audio information, the drive control unit 13 obtains the position of the listener based on the listener information from the information acquisition device 11. This method is the same as in the fourth embodiment.

Next, the drive control unit 13 controls the sound field of the audible sound formed by the speaker 9 and the sound field of the audible sound formed by the superdirective speaker 3 to the listener who is trying to acquire audio information. Find where the points overlap. Further, the drive control unit 13 obtains a position (first position) at which the sound pressure of the audible sound by the superdirective speaker 3 becomes larger than the sound pressure of the audible sound by the speaker 9. Then, in a range where the sound field of the audible sound of the superdirective speaker 3 and the sound field of the audible sound of the speaker 9 overlap, the drive control unit 13 sets the superdirective speaker in order to bring the listener closer to the first position. Obtain direction adjustment information indicating how much and in what direction 3 should be moved. The direction adjustment information is obtained based on the position of the listener and the output of the potentiometer as well as the calculation of how much each superdirective speaker 3 should be moved as described in the second embodiment.

After that, as shown in the configuration described in the fourth embodiment, that is, the configuration of the

sound reproducing apparatuses

200, 210, and 220 of FIGS. 8 to 10, the drive control unit 13 superdirects the listener by the notification unit 40. Transmitting the direction adjustment information of the speaker 3. The specific content is the same as that of the fourth embodiment, and thus the detailed description is omitted.

Such an operation allows the listener to easily adjust the direction of the superdirective speaker 3. Then, when the adjustment is finished, the listener can easily hear the audio information from which the stereoscopic effect can be obtained by returning to the position where the listener first sat down.

Sixth Embodiment
FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the sound reproduction device 300 according to the present embodiment. In the configuration of the sound reproducing apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment, the same components as those of the sound reproducing apparatus 200 according to the fourth embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. Sound reproducing apparatus 300 in the present embodiment is different from sound reproducing apparatus 200 in the fourth embodiment in that there is no direction adjustment unit 5 and superdirective speaker 3 does not move vertically and horizontally.

The operation of the sound reproduction device 300 in the present embodiment will be described. A detailed description of the same operations as in the fourth embodiment will be omitted.

When outputting the audio information, the drive control unit 13 obtains the position of the listener based on the listener information from the information acquisition device 11. This method is similar to that of the fourth embodiment.

Next, the drive control unit 13 obtains the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound formed by the superdirective speaker 3. Then, it determines where the listener should sit.

Specifically, the drive control unit 13 stores various data such as a predetermined distance dk and sound pressure characteristics shown in FIG. 13 in the built-in memory. That is, the drive control unit 13 stores the position of the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound of the superdirective speaker 3 corresponding to the optimum listening point. Then, based on the image information obtained from the information acquisition device 11, the drive control unit 13 detects how far the position of the listener is from the optimal listening point. Then, the drive control unit 13 determines in which direction the listener should move and sit. This is seating position information.

Next, in a range where the sound field of the audible sound of the superdirective speaker 3 and the sound field of the audible sound of the speaker 9 overlap, the drive control unit 13 moves the position of the listener closer to the peak position of the sound pressure. The direction in which the listener moves is output to the notification unit 40 as seating position information. Specifically, the drive control unit 13 processes the determined seating position information into image information and outputs the image information to the notification unit 40. In the present embodiment, the seating position information processed into the image information is displayed on the image display device 20 because the notification unit 40 is included in the image display device 20.

An example of the display is shown in FIG. For example, assuming that the listener is seated to the left from the location of the optimal listening point, the image display device 20 displays a rightward arrow with a message "Please sit a little further to the right".

The listener who sees this moves to the right and sits down. This situation is immediately output as image information to the drive control unit 13 by the information acquisition device 11 (camera). The drive control unit 13 obtains seating position information again based on the newly output image information.

If it is determined from the seating position information that the listener is seated at the optimal listening point location, the drive control unit 13 stops the display of the seating position information on the image display device 20. This allows the listener to know that he or she is seated at the optimal listening point.

On the other hand, if it is determined from the seating position information that the listener has moved but is not yet seated at the optimum listening point, the drive control unit 13 once again uses the latest seating position information as the image display device 20. To display. The listener who sees this moves and sits again based on the displayed seating position information.

By repeating such an operation, the listener can easily sit at the optimum listening point. As a result, the listener can easily listen to audio information from which a three-dimensional effect can be obtained.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, the direction adjustment unit 5 and the motor and the potentiometer built in the direction adjustment unit 5 become unnecessary. Therefore, the cost can be further reduced. The listener can easily obtain a three-dimensional effect by the above configuration and operation.

As is clear from the above description, the sound reproducing apparatus 300 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the direction adjusting unit 5 is eliminated in the sound reproducing apparatus 200 of the fourth embodiment. Then, the sound reproduction device 300 transmits the seating position information to the listener, thereby assisting the listener to move and sit at the optimal listening point. Therefore, the fourth embodiment is the same as the fourth embodiment except for the direction adjustment.

Further, although the configuration in which the notification unit 40 includes the image display device 20 has been described in the present embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and as in the sound reproduction device 210 of FIG. It may be output from the speaker 9 as

Further, as in the sound reproducing device 220 of FIG. 10, the seating position information may be transmitted to the listener by the display device 50. That is, the notification unit 40 may have a display unit such as the image display device 20 or the display device 50, and the seating position information may be output to the display unit. Furthermore, two or more of the above configurations may be combined.

Seventh Embodiment
The configuration of the sound reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment is the same as the configuration of the sound reproducing apparatus 300 of FIG. 11 described in the sixth embodiment, and thus the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Hereinafter, the operation of the sound reproduction device 300 of the present embodiment will be described.

First, when outputting the audio information, the drive control unit 13 obtains the position of the listener based on the listener information from the information acquisition device 11. This method is the same as in the sixth embodiment.

Next, the drive control unit 13 obtains a position where the sound field of the audible sound formed by the speaker 9 and the sound field of the audible sound formed by the superdirective speaker 3 overlap. Further, the drive control unit 13 obtains a position (first position) at which the sound pressure of the audible sound by the superdirective speaker 3 becomes larger than the sound pressure of the audible sound by the speaker 9. Then, the drive control unit 13 causes the listener to move the position of the listener closer to the first position in a range in which the sound field of the audible sound of the superdirective speaker 3 and the sound field of the audible sound of the speaker 9 overlap. Ask where to sit.

Specifically, the drive control unit 13 stores various data such as sound pressure characteristics shown in FIG. 13 in the built-in memory. Therefore, the drive control unit 13 compares the position of the listener with the first position to determine in which direction the listener should move and sit. This is seating position information.

Next, the drive control unit 13 displays seating position information on the image display device 20 that the notification unit 40 has. The details thereof are the same as in the sixth embodiment, so the description will be omitted.

In this manner, as in the sixth embodiment, the listener can easily sit at the optimum listening point. As a result, the listener can easily listen to audio information from which a three-dimensional effect can be obtained.

Also in the present embodiment, as in the sixth embodiment, since the motor and the potentiometer built in the direction adjustment unit 5 of the superdirective speaker 3 in the first embodiment become unnecessary, the cost can be reduced.

With the above configuration and operation, the listener can easily obtain a three-dimensional effect by the listener sitting on the basis of the seating position information transmitted to the notification unit 40.

As is clear from the above description, the sound reproduction device 300 of the present embodiment has a structure in which the direction adjustment unit 5 is eliminated in the sound reproduction device 200 of the fourth embodiment. The sound reproduction device 300 of the present embodiment transmits seating position information to the listener, thereby assisting the listener to sit at an optimal listening point. Therefore, the sound reproducing apparatus 200 is the same as the sound reproducing apparatus 200 of the fourth embodiment except for the part related to the direction adjustment.

The sound reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is particularly useful as a sound reproducing apparatus using a superdirective speaker, since a listener can easily obtain a three-dimensional effect.

1, 55, 200, 210, 220, 300 Sound reproduction device 3 Superdirective speaker 5 Direction adjustment unit 7 Superdirective speaker unit 9 Speaker 11 Information acquisition device 13 Drive control unit 20 Image display device 30 Listener 40 Notification unit 50 Display device

Claims

A first speaker having directivity using parametric effects;
A second speaker having a wider directivity than the first speaker;
A direction adjustment unit that changes the direction of the first speaker;
An information acquisition device for acquiring information including a position of a listener;
And a drive control unit electrically connected to the first speaker, the second speaker, the direction adjustment unit, and the information acquisition device.
The drive control unit causes the sound field of the audible sound of the first speaker and the sound field of the audible sound of the second speaker to overlap at the position of the listener based on the information, and The peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound formed by the first speaker is brought closer to the position of the listener,
An acoustic reproduction device, which changes the direction of the first speaker by the direction adjustment unit.
A first speaker having directivity using parametric effects;
A second speaker having a wider directivity than the first speaker;
A direction adjustment unit that changes the direction of the first speaker;
An information acquisition device for acquiring information including a position of a listener;
And a drive control unit electrically connected to the first speaker, the second speaker, the direction adjustment unit, and the information acquisition device.
The drive control unit causes the sound field of the audible sound of the first speaker and the sound field of the audible sound of the second speaker to overlap at the position of the listener based on the information, and The direction adjustment unit causes the sound pressure of the audible sound formed by the first speaker to be greater than the sound pressure of the audible sound formed by the second speaker at the position of the listener. Sound reproduction device that changes the direction of the first speaker.
The information comprises the number of listeners,
When the listener is one, the drive control unit directs the audio information of the first speaker to the listener,
When there are a plurality of the listeners and the first speakers, and the number of the listeners is equal to the number of the first speakers, the drive control unit determines the audio information of the plurality of first speakers Direct one-to-one to multiple listeners,
When there are a plurality of the listeners and the number of the listeners is not equal to the number of the first speakers, the drive control unit directs the audio information of the first speakers to any of the listeners. The sound reproduction apparatus of any one of Claim 1 or 2.
When there are a plurality of listeners, the drive control unit obtains the distance between the plurality of listeners and the first speaker, and the listener is located near the peak of the sound pressure of the first speaker The sound reproduction device according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the audio information of the first speaker is output in priority.
The method according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein, when there are a plurality of listeners, the drive control unit outputs the audio information of the first speaker toward the listeners with high priority registered in advance. The sound reproduction apparatus as described in a term.
A first speaker having directivity using parametric effects;
A second speaker having a wider directivity than the first speaker;
A direction adjustment unit that changes the direction of the first speaker;
An information acquisition device for acquiring information including a position of a listener;
A notification unit for transmitting direction adjustment information to the listener;
And a drive control unit electrically connected to the first speaker, the second speaker, the direction adjustment unit, the information acquisition device, and the notification unit.
The drive control unit determines the relationship between the position of the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound formed by the first speaker and the position of the listener based on the information.
In order to bring the position of the peak of the sound pressure closer to the position of the listener in a range where the sound field of the audible sound of the first speaker and the sound field of the audible sound of the second speaker overlap, A sound reproducing apparatus, which outputs the direction in which the speaker is moved to the notification unit as the direction adjustment information.
A first speaker having directivity using parametric effects;
A second speaker having a wider directivity than the first speaker;
A direction adjustment unit that changes the direction of the first speaker;
An information acquisition device for acquiring information including a position of a listener;
A notification control unit that transmits direction adjustment information to the listener, the first speaker, the second speaker, the direction adjustment unit, the information acquisition apparatus, and a drive control unit electrically connected to the notification unit Have
The drive control unit is configured, based on the information, to a first position where a sound pressure of an audible sound formed by the first speaker is greater than a sound pressure of an audible sound formed by the second speaker. Determine the relationship with the position of the listener,
In order to bring the first position closer to the position of the listener in a range where the sound field of the audible sound of the first speaker and the sound field of the audible sound of the second speaker overlap, the first speaker The sound reproduction apparatus outputs the direction in which the movement unit is moved to the notification unit as the direction adjustment information.
The notification unit has a display unit,
The sound reproduction device according to claim 6, wherein the direction adjustment information is output to the display unit.
The second speaker doubles as the notification unit,
The sound reproduction device according to any one of claims 6 and 7, wherein the direction adjustment information is output from the second speaker.
A first speaker having directivity using parametric effects;
A second speaker having a wider directivity than the first speaker;
An information acquisition device for acquiring information including a position of a listener;
A notification unit that transmits seating position information to the listener, the first speaker, the second speaker, the information acquisition device, and a drive control unit electrically connected to the notification unit;
The drive control unit determines the relationship between the position of the peak of the sound pressure of the audible sound formed by the first speaker and the position of the listener based on the information.
In order to bring the position of the listener close to the position of the peak of the sound pressure in a range where the sound field of the audible sound of the first speaker and the sound field of the audible sound of the second speaker overlap, The sound reproduction apparatus outputs the moving direction of the seat as the seating position information to the notification unit.
A first speaker having directivity using parametric effects;
A second speaker having a wider directivity than the first speaker;
An information acquisition device for acquiring information including a position of a listener;
A notification unit for transmitting seating position information to the listener;
A drive control unit electrically connected to the first speaker, the second speaker, the information acquisition device, and the notification unit;
The drive control unit is configured, based on the information, to a first position where a sound pressure of an audible sound formed by the first speaker is greater than a sound pressure of an audible sound formed by the second speaker. Find the positional relationship with the listener,
The listener moves to bring the position of the listener closer to the first position in a range where the sound field of the audible sound of the first speaker and the sound field of the audible sound of the second speaker overlap. The sound reproducing apparatus which outputs the said direction to said alerting | reporting part as said seating position information.
The notification unit has a display unit,
The sound reproduction device according to claim 10, wherein the seating position information is output to the display unit.
The second speaker doubles as the notification unit,
The sound reproduction device according to any one of claims 10 and 11, wherein the seating position information is output from the second speaker.