JP2006129377A - Communications equipment and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably maintain high sound quality and to improve the convenience. <P>SOLUTION: Communications equipment is provided with two sound output means for outputting sound and three sound input means for inputting the sound and exchanges sound information indicating the sound with facing communications equipment. The communications equipment is also provided with a first sound working means for working received sound information with surrounding sound information, indicating the sound inputted to the first sound input means and then making the sound corresponding to the worked received sound information be outputted from the first sound output means, when a user is made to listen to the sound corresponding to the sound information received which has arrived from the facing communications equipment, by outputting it from the first sound output means; and a second sound working means similar to the first sound working means for the case of outputting the sound corresponding to the received sound information which has arrived from the facing communications equipment from the second sound output means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication apparatus and method, and is suitably applied to, for example, a case where a voice call is performed using headphones or the like on a mobile phone.

  As a technique for voice communication using headphones, there are those described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below.

  In Patent Document 1, two microphones and two speakers are provided in the transmission / reception unit, the speakers are arranged in the vicinity of the left and right ears, and the two microphones are arranged in the left and right in the vicinity of the mouth. Is used to realize a high-quality call with a sense of reality due to a three-dimensional sound effect.

In Patent Document 2, a configuration is adopted in which left and right speakers are arranged in the vicinity of the listener's left and right ears using headphones, and the amplitude information of the average value information in the head-related transfer function (HRTF) is used for amplitude affecting sound quality. Is used to scale the impulse (HRTF IR) response to a flat amplitude, etc., so that the sound quality can be improved without impairing the sense of localization.
JP-A-6-268722 JP-A-8-336198

  However, in the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, since consideration for the surrounding noise environment is lacking, the sense of reality and sound quality are impaired by the surrounding noise, and conversely, headphones are used when not talking. In some cases, it may be better to be able to listen to ambient noise, for example, while the device is still worn, but it is difficult for the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2 to meet such a demand. That is, it can be said that the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2 are difficult to stably maintain high sound quality including realistic sensation, and are not convenient.

  In order to solve this problem, the first aspect of the present invention includes two sound output means for outputting sound and three sound input means for inputting sound, and the sound information indicating the sound with the facing communication device. (1) Of the two sound output means, the first sound output means is at a position where the left listening organ of the user listens to the sound, and the second sound output means is: (2) Of the three sound input means, the first sound input means is located in the vicinity of the user's left listening organ, in the vicinity of the left listening organ. The second sound input means is disposed in the vicinity of the user's right listening organ, and the third sound input means is disposed in the vicinity of the user's sound organ, and (3) arrives from the opposite communication device. A sound corresponding to the received received sound information is output from the first sound output means. Thus, when listening to the user, after processing the received sound information with the ambient sound information indicating the sound input to the first sound input means, the sound corresponding to the processed received sound information is first processed. First sound processing means to be output from the sound output means, and (4) when the user listens by outputting the sound corresponding to the received sound information arriving from the opposite communication device from the second sound output means. The received sound information is processed with the ambient sound information indicating the sound input to the second sound input means, and the sound corresponding to the processed received sound information is output from the second sound output means. And a second sound processing means.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication method using two sound output means for outputting sound and three sound input means for inputting sound, and exchanging sound information indicating sound with an opposing communication device. (1) Of the two sound output means, the first sound output means is at a position where the user's left listening organ listens to the sound, and the second sound output means is at the user's right listening organ. (2) Of the three sound input means, the first sound input means is in the vicinity of the left listening organ of the user, and the second sound input means is the sound input means. The third sound input means is arranged in the vicinity of the user's right listening organ and in the vicinity of the user's sounding organ, respectively. (3) Sound corresponding to the received sound information arriving from the opposing communication device Is output from the first sound output means so that the user can listen to it. In some cases, the received sound information is processed on the basis of the ambient sound information indicating the sound input to the first sound input means by the first sound processing means, and the received sound information is processed according to the processed received sound information. When the sound is output from the first sound output means and (4) the user listens by outputting the sound corresponding to the received sound information arriving from the opposite communication device from the second sound output means, the second The received sound information is processed based on the ambient sound information indicating the sound input to the second sound input means by the sound processing means, and the sound corresponding to the processed received sound information is secondly processed. Output from the sound output means.

  According to the present invention, high sound quality can be stably maintained, and convenience can be enhanced.

(A) Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described by taking as an example the case where the communication apparatus and method according to the present invention are applied to a call system using a mobile phone.

(A-1) Configuration of the First Embodiment FIG. 3 shows an example of the overall configuration of the call system 10 according to the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 3, the call system 10 includes a mobile phone 11 and headphones 12.

  Among these, the mobile phone 11 may basically be a normal mobile phone. However, it differs from an ordinary mobile phone in that a stereophonic circuit 31 (see FIG. 2), which will be described later, is disposed inside.

  The headphone 12 is the same as a normal headphone in that it has a configuration in which ear pads 14 and 15 are arranged at both ends of a connecting member (headband) 13, but not only a speaker 20 (see FIG. 1) but also a microphone inside the ear pad. 21 is different from ordinary headphones in that 21 is also provided. The ear pad 14 is a member that covers the vicinity of the right ear of the user U1 wearing the headphone 12, and the ear pad 15 is a member that covers the vicinity of the left ear of the user U1.

  The internal configuration of the mobile phone 11 may be as shown in FIG. This mobile phone 11 is used by the user U1. Normally, at the time of use, the user U1 wears the headphone 11 on his / her head and holds the mobile phone 11 with his palm.

(A-1-1) Internal Configuration Example of Mobile Phone In FIG. 2, the mobile phone 11 includes a mobile phone circuit 30, a stereophonic circuit 31, and a microphone 32.

  Among these, the cellular phone circuit 30 is basically the same as the components that a conventional ordinary cellular phone has for voice calls. The cellular phone circuit 30 outputs a voice signal sm indicating the voice of the other party (not shown) of the user U1 as a result of executing a known process such as a demodulation process on the received wireless signal WS1. On the contrary, the voice uttered by the user U1 is collected by the microphone 32 provided in the mobile phone 11, and is subjected to a known process such as a modulation process. As a result, the voice is accommodated in the radio signal WS2 and transmitted.

  The wireless signals WS1 and WS2 are signals directly exchanged between the mobile phone 11 and the base station, but as is well known, information reflecting these signals is communicated with the other party's mobile phone via the mobile phone network. Exchanged.

  The three-dimensional acoustic circuit 31 is a circuit that performs localization processing based on the audio signal sm. In this localization processing, the above-described head related transfer function (HRTF) can be used. In general, the localization sound signal obtained as a result of the localization process is different for the right ear and the left ear, but in this embodiment, sound is generated from the front of the user U1 (for example, a position 1 meter ahead). In order to perform localization processing so that it can be heard, the localization sound signals s1 and s2 for the right and left ears are generated by the same HRTF, but in a general case that is not the front, as is well known, depending on the angle from the front , The HRTF is different, and individual HRTF processing is performed. The stereophonic circuit 31 includes HRTF units 41A and 41B shown in FIG. The HRTF unit 41A generates the localization signal s1, and the HRTF unit 41B generates the localization signal s2.

  The control signal v output from the mobile phone circuit 30 is a signal indicating whether or not the user U1 and the other party are in a call state. For example, v = 1 (for example, “1” is high level) may indicate a call state, and v = 0 (for example, “0” is low level) may indicate the other (non-call state).

  The call state is a state in which a call is set between the mobile phone 11 and the other party's terminal. Therefore, the control signal v can be easily generated based on the information related to call control that the mobile phone circuit 30 has.

  As is well known, normally, when the mobile phone itself is equipped with a speaker (not shown) and the user U1 uses the mobile phone 11 against the right ear, the user U1's right ear, on the contrary, the left When used against the ear, the voice of the other party is heard with the left ear. However, in this embodiment, the user U1 uses the headphones 12 to listen to the voice spoken by the other party. Sound output from the speaker is not necessary. Therefore, when the headphones 12 are connected to the mobile phone 11, the audio output from the speaker of the mobile phone 11 may not be performed.

  In FIG. 3, the headphones 12 and the mobile phone 11 are connected via a wired transmission path, but it is natural that they may be connected via a wireless transmission path using a short-range wireless technology or the like.

  The microphone 32 shown in FIG. 2 is a microphone mounted on the mobile phone 11. In the present embodiment, in order to convey the voice uttered by the user U1 to the other party, it is necessary to collect the voice of the user U1 by the microphone 32. The voice uttered by the user U1 is collected by the microphone 32 and supplied to the mobile phone circuit 30 as the voice signal m.

  When the mobile phone 11 can collect the sound to be heard by the right ear of the communication partner and the sound to be heard by the left ear with separate microphones, there will be two microphones 32. Although it is possible to adopt a configuration, since a general mobile phone does not have such a configuration, only one microphone 32 is illustrated in FIG.

  The internal configuration of the ear pad 15 for the left ear is, for example, as shown in FIG. The internal configuration of the ear pad 14 for the right ear may be the same as this.

(A-1-2) Internal Configuration Example of Ear Pad In FIG. 1, the ear pad 15 includes a speaker 20, a microphone 21, an amplification attenuation circuit 22, and a mixing circuit 23.

  The acoustic engineering properties of the ear pad 15 main body vary depending on its physical structure (structure, material, etc.). Here, in the state where the ear pad 15 is worn, the user U1 emits sound (here, ambient noise) emitted from the surrounding environment. ) Is almost inaudible. Alternatively, when a noise canceller based on signal processing is mounted, how to hear ambient noise when the ear pad 15 is worn depends not only on the physical structure of the ear pad 15 body but also on the function of the noise canceller. In any case, it is assumed that the user U1 can hardly hear the ambient noise when the ear pad 15 is attached.

  The microphone 21 collects the ambient noise and outputs a noise signal n corresponding to the ambient noise.

  The amplification and attenuation circuit 22 is a circuit that receives the control signal v and the noise signal n and outputs a processed noise signal vn. The control signal v is used as a control signal for controlling the amplification degree. That is, when the control signal v indicates the call state, a signal obtained by amplifying and attenuating the noise signal n to a level at which the noise signal n becomes almost inaudible (for example, a signal attenuated by 12 dB) is used as the processed noise signal vn. When the state is shown, the processed noise signal vn is amplified and attenuated to a level at which ambient noise can be heard to the same extent as when the user U1 does not wear the headphones 12.

  The mixing circuit 23 is a circuit that receives the processed noise signal vn and the localization sound signal s1, mixes them, and outputs the mixing result as a listening signal sp1. The listening signal sp1 is supplied to the speaker 20.

  The speaker 20 outputs a listening sound corresponding to the listening signal sp1. This listening sound is heard by the left ear of the user U1.

  The operation of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described below.

(A-2) Operation of the First Embodiment The user U1 may wear the headphone 12 on the head only when talking on the mobile phone 11, but in the present embodiment, basically, Assume that it is attached. Therefore, for example, the user U1 wears the headphones 12 even while moving without talking (for example, while walking). If the headphone 12 is removed from the head during movement, a new storage space for the headphone 12 is required. Therefore, keeping the headphone 12 attached to the head contributes to an improvement in convenience.

  However, in order for the user U1 to move while confirming the surrounding situation, it is important to be able to hear the ambient noise generated by the surrounding environment as much as when the headphones 12 are worn but not. .

  When the user U1 is not talking to any of the other parties, the control signal v maintains “0” indicating the non-calling state. Therefore, the amplification attenuation circuit 22 in the ear pads 14 and 15 allows the user U1 to use headphones. The processed noise signal vn is amplified and attenuated to a level at which ambient noise can be heard to the same extent as in the state in which 12 is not attached.

  At this time, since no valid signal is supplied as the localization sound signals s1 and s2, the mixing result by the mixing circuit 23 is composed only of the processed noise signal vn, and the processed noise signal vn is the received signal sp1. Is output as Therefore, the ambient noise on the left ear side is heard as the listening sound in the left ear of the user U1 by the operation of each of the components 20 to 23 in the ear pad 15. At the same time, the ambient noise on the right ear side is heard as an audible sound in the right ear of the user U1 by the operation of the components 20 to 23 in the ear pad 14.

  Eventually, the user U1 can hear the ambient noise with the left and right ears, almost the same as when the headphones 12 are not worn, so wearing the headphones 12 does not hinder movement.

  On the other hand, the operation in a call state in which a call is set between the mobile phone 11 and the other party's terminal is as follows.

  Since the control signal v is “1” indicating the call state in the call state, the noise signal n is amplified and attenuated in the ear pads 14 and 15 to a level at which the noise signal n becomes almost inaudible. Almost no processing noise signal vn is included.

  In the state where the other party of the user U1 is speaking in the call state, since the effective localization audio signals s1 and s2 are supplied, the mixing result mainly includes these localization audio signals s1 and s2. It is possible to listen to the content spoken by the other party without being disturbed by the ambient noise (even when the ambient noise is large), and to realize high sound quality.

  At this time, the user U1 listens to the listening sound corresponding to the localization sound signals s1 and s2 subjected to the localization process, so that the other party is as if standing at a position 1 meter ahead of the user U1. You can make a realistic call.

  Further, in the state where the user U1 speaks and the other party does not speak in the call state, the effective localization voice signals s1 and s2 cannot be obtained, so that the user U1 has a slight ambient noise according to the mixing result. Speaking while listening only. In this case, too much ambient noise may be heard, which may hinder speech. Therefore, the quality of a call can be improved by attenuating the ambient noise level.

(A-3) Effect of First Embodiment According to the present embodiment, ambient noise is reduced in a call state, so that the quality of a call can be improved and the sound quality can be stably maintained.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since the user (U1) can listen to ambient noise even if the headphone (12) is worn on the head and is not in a talking state, convenience can be improved.

  Moreover, in the present embodiment, since the telephone system (10) can be constructed almost using an existing mobile phone as it is, it is excellent in practicability.

(B) Second Embodiment Hereinafter, only differences between the present embodiment and the first embodiment will be described.

  This embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in that it is related to the provision of a silicon audio circuit for allowing the user U1 to listen to music when in a non-calling state.

(B-1) Configuration and Operation of Second Embodiment FIG. 4 shows an internal configuration example of the mobile phone 50 of the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 4, the mobile phone 50 includes a mobile phone circuit 40, a stereophonic circuit 41, a microphone 42, a switching circuit 43, and a silicon audio circuit 44.

  Among these, the mobile phone circuit 40 corresponds to the mobile phone circuit 30, the stereophonic circuit 41 corresponds to the stereophonic circuit 31, and the microphone 42 corresponds to the microphone 32.

  The switching circuit 43 receives the stereophonic audio signals s1 and s2 output from the stereophonic circuit 41 and the stereo audio signals ssr and ssl output from the silicon audio circuit 44, and a switching control signal. The control signal v is input.

  The silicon audio circuit 44 is an audio device using a semiconductor memory or the like, and can reproduce and output music or the like according to information stored in the semiconductor memory in advance. Therefore, the audio signals ssr and ssl are signals corresponding to the music.

  Since the silicon audio circuit 44 can be configured in a small size, it can be easily mounted inside the mobile phone 50. However, if necessary, the silicon audio circuit 44 is configured separately from the mobile phone 50, and the user U1 can connect the mobile phone 50 to the mobile phone 50. 50 may be used. A CD player or the like may be used instead of the silicon audio circuit 44. In the case of a CD player or the like, the audio signal ssr or ssl may be supplied to the switching circuit 43 in the mobile phone 50 by connecting to the mobile phone 50 from the outside.

  The switching circuit 43 selects either the localization audio signals s1 and s2 or the audio signals ssl and ssr according to the value of the control signal v, and the ear pads 15 and 14 are selected signals as selection signals sl and sr. This is a circuit for supplying to the internal mixing circuit 23.

  For the mixing circuit 23 in the ear pad 15 for the left ear, the selection signal sl is a substitute for the localization sound signal s1 in the first embodiment, and for the mixing circuit 23 in the ear pad 14 for the right ear. sr is a substitute for the localization audio signal s2 in the first embodiment.

  Therefore, in the case of the present embodiment, the user U1 listens to the voice spoken by the call partner corresponding to the localization voice signals s1 and s2 in the call state in which the call partner is speaking, and the audio signal ssl and the voice in the non-call state. The result of mixing music corresponding to ssr and ambient noise corresponding to the noise signal nv is listened to.

  Note that, in a non-calling state, the user U1 operates, for example, a changeover switch or the like to listen to the mixing result, to listen only to ambient noise, or to listen only to music corresponding to the audio signals ssl and ssr. Of course, it may be specified explicitly by

(B-2) Effect of Second Embodiment According to the present embodiment, an effect equivalent to the effect of the first embodiment can be obtained.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, music corresponding to the audio signals (ssl, ssr) can be listened to automatically in a non-calling state, so that it can be used more comfortably and convenience is improved. .

(C) Other Embodiments Regardless of the first and second embodiments, the stereophonic acoustic circuits 31, 41, the switching circuit 43, and the like may be arranged on the headphone 12 side such as the ear pads 14, 15. . As a result, the functions that need to be installed in the mobile phones 11 and 50 are reduced, and the feasibility is further enhanced.

  Further, in the first and second embodiments, the microphones 32 and 42 of the mobile phones 11 and 50 are used near the mouth of the user U1, and the ear pads 15 and 14 are used near the left and right ears of the user U1. However, it may be possible to replace the mouth and ears with other organs of the human body. This is because, for example, organs other than so-called ears may become listening organs due to medical technology.

  Note that the mobile phones 11 and 50 used in the first and second embodiments may be replaced with other communication devices. The communication device does not necessarily have to be a communication device of the type that the user carries and moves.

  In the first and second embodiments, the ambient noise emitted from the surrounding environment of the user U1 is reflected only in the listening sound that the user U1 listens to. It is also desirable to be able to make a call in a noisy environment where the call partner and the user U1 are substantially equivalent.

  In the above description, the present invention is realized mainly by hardware, but the present invention can also be realized by software.

It is the schematic which shows the internal structural example of the ear pad used by 1st and 2nd embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the internal structural example of the mobile telephone used by 1st Embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the example of whole structure of the telephone system concerning 1st and 2nd embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the internal structural example of the mobile telephone used by 2nd Embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the example of an internal structure of the stereophonic circuit used by 1st and 2nd embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Call system 11, 50 ... Mobile phone, 12 ... Headphone, 13 ... Connecting member, 14, 15 ... Ear pad, 20 ... Speaker, 21, 32 ... Microphone, 22 ... Amplification attenuation circuit, 23 ... Mixing circuit, 30, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 40 ... Mobile phone circuit 31, 41 ... Stereophonic circuit, 42 ... Switching circuit, 43 ... Silicon audio circuit, m, sm ... Audio signal, s1, s2 ... Localization audio signal, v ... Control signal, n ... Noise signal, vn ... processing noise signal, sp1 ... listening signal.

Claims (2)

A communication device comprising two sound output means for outputting sound and three sound input means for inputting sound, and exchanging sound information indicating sound with a facing communication device,
Of the two sound output means, the first sound output means causes the user's left listening organ to listen to the sound, and the second sound output means causes the user's right listening organ to listen to the sound. In place,
Of the three sound input means, the first sound input means is in the vicinity of the user's left listening organ, and the second sound input means is in the vicinity of the user's right listening organ. The sound input means are respectively arranged in the vicinity of the user's sound organ,
Surrounding sound information indicating the sound input to the first sound input means when the user listens to the sound corresponding to the received sound information that has arrived from the opposite communication device by outputting the sound from the first sound output means. Then, after processing the received sound information, the first sound processing means for outputting the sound according to the processed received sound information from the first sound output means,
Surrounding sound information indicating the sound input to the second sound input means when the user listens to the sound corresponding to the received sound information that has arrived from the opposite communication device by outputting the sound from the second sound output means. And a second sound processing means for processing the received sound information and outputting a sound corresponding to the processed received sound information from the second sound output means. A communication method using two sound output means for outputting sound and three sound input means for inputting sound, and exchanging sound information indicating the sound with a facing communication device,
Of the two sound output means, the first sound output means causes the user's left listening organ to listen to the sound, and the second sound output means causes the user's right listening organ to listen to the sound. In place,
Of the three sound input means, the first sound input means is in the vicinity of the user's left listening organ, and the second sound input means is in the vicinity of the user's right listening organ. The sound input means are respectively arranged in the vicinity of the user's sound organ,
When the user listens to the sound corresponding to the received sound information that has arrived from the opposite communication device by outputting from the first sound output means, the sound is input to the first sound input means by the first sound processing means. After processing the received sound information based on the surrounding sound information indicating the sound that has been processed, output the sound according to the processed received sound information from the first sound output means,
When the sound corresponding to the received sound information that has arrived from the opposite communication device is output from the second sound output means to be heard by the user, the sound is input to the second sound input means by the second sound processing means. A communication method characterized by processing the received sound information based on ambient sound information indicating a sound and outputting a sound corresponding to the processed received sound information from the second sound output means.

Images