Earphone equipment for game halls

Abstract

To provide earphone equipment for game halls, the equipment capable of reducing the risk of staff members having hearing impairment, while reducing the risk of having difficulty in hearing the voices of players.SOLUTION: In earphone equipment for game halls, audio output of an intercom headset is to be suppressed in one of earphone portions, but no suppression is conducted in the other portion. Further, a noise cancellation function is activated in the one earphone portion in which the audio output is suppressed, as well as the other portion. Therefore, reducing the risk of staff members having hearing impairment is possible, while reducing the risk of having difficulty in hearing the voices of players.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to earphone devices for game arcades. [Background technology]

[0002] In game arcades, employees in charge of customer service carry intercoms, through which voice messages from the management device and instructions from the manager are transmitted. Employees wear earphones connected to the intercoms, but since the intercom audio is often output suddenly, and there are also cases where the intercom audio is output during a conversation with a player, making it difficult to hear the player, the majority of game arcades only have one earphone for the intercom. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP2009-017083A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Now, there are various noises within game arcades, such as the sound effects of game machines and the grinding and transportation of game media by replenishing devices, and there are many cases of employees suffering from hearing loss, which is becoming a problem. One possibility for preventing hearing loss is to use earphones with a noise-canceling (NC) function, but as mentioned above, many amusement arcades only have earphones fitted to one ear, making it difficult to take measures against hearing loss in the other ear.

[0005] On the other hand, conventional general-purpose earphones that are used outside of amusement parks, such as those shown in Patent Document 1, are not designed to listen to external sounds with one ear and input audio with the other ear in noisy environments as described above. Therefore, if NC functions are attached to both ears, audio will be output from both ears. If such general-purpose earphones are used and it becomes difficult to hear the player's voice as described above, the only options available are to output audio from both ears or to continue wearing an earphone in only one ear as before, and a solution was needed in this regard.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an earphone device for use in an amusement arcade that can reduce the risk of employees becoming hard of hearing while reducing the risk of players' voices becoming difficult to hear. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention relates to an earphone device for an employee at an amusement facility, comprising: A right earphone part that can be attached to the right ear and a left earphone part that can be attached to the left ear; an output unit (e.g., an output processing unit 23 shown in FIG. 6 ) that outputs an input audio signal (e.g., an intercom audio input by wireless communication) to both the right earphone unit and the left earphone unit; a noise canceling means (for example, an NC circuit as the noise canceling unit 24 shown in FIG. 6) that operates a noise canceling function that performs processing to remove noise from the sound collected by the sound collecting microphone and outputs the processed audio signal to both of the earphone units; The device is provided with a control means (e.g., the control unit 20 shown in FIG. 6) that controls both of the earphone units to activate the noise cancellation function when performing one-ear processing in which output of the audio signal by the output means is suppressed for one of the two earphone units (e.g., suppressed by prohibiting audio output) but the suppression is not performed for the other earphone unit.

[0008] According to the present invention, for example, the audio output of an intercom is suppressed for one of the earphone units, but not for the other, and further the noise cancellation function is activated for the earphone unit whose audio output is suppressed in the same way as the other unit, thereby reducing the risk of players' voices becoming difficult to hear while also reducing the risk of employees suffering from hearing loss. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a game center according to one embodiment. [Diagram 2] Overall view of employee equipment [Diagram 3] Close-up of the battery housing side of the earphone device [Figure 4] 1A to 1C are explanatory diagrams showing an example of a method for wearing an earphone device. [Diagram 5] A close-up of the earphone cord-bundling clip [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the employee device; [Figure 7] Illustration of how to wear the left and right earphones and the binaural and single ear modes DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] An embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an amusement center, and an employee device 10 shown in Fig. 2 is used in the amusement center. A large number of gaming machines 1 are installed in the amusement center, and gaming devices 2 are installed on the sides of the gaming machines 1 and information display devices 3 are installed above the gaming machines 1 in one-to-one correspondence.

[0011] Each gaming machine 1 is connected to a corresponding gaming device 2, and two gaming devices 2 and two information display devices 3 are connected to a relay device 4, and the relay device 4 is connected to a management device 6 via a LAN 5. The management device 6 receives game information indicating the game status of each gaming machine 1, thereby managing the game information for each gaming machine 1. In this case, the game information of each gaming machine 1 is received by the management device 6 from the gaming machine 1 via the gaming device 2 and the relay device 4 in this order. Meanwhile, various setting information of the gaming device 2 set in the management device 6 is received by the gaming device 2 from the management device 6 via the relay device 4.

[0012] Although not shown in the figure, a prize exchange terminal (POS) and a payment machine are also installed in the game center, and the POS and the payment machine are also connected to the management device 6 via the LAN 5. The POS has a card insertion slot and a card reader / writer (card RW), and when an IC card 7 (see FIG. 1) such as a membership card or general card is inserted through the card insertion slot, a prize exchange process is executed via the card RW to exchange for prizes within the range of gaming values ​​such as points held or deposited points (so-called saved balls) specified by the card 7. The settlement machine has a card insertion slot and a card RW, and uses the card RW to read the deposit balance (simply referred to as the "balance") recorded on the IC card 7 inserted through the card insertion slot, and returns bills and coins corresponding to that balance from a return slot.

[0013] The management device 6 is installed in, for example, an office in the gaming facility. Although detailed illustration is omitted, the control unit of the management device 6 is mainly composed of a microcomputer having a memory unit such as a CPU, ROM, and RAM, and the control unit is connected to a keyboard 6a and a monitor 6b operated by the manager of the gaming facility, as well as a printer and a communication unit (I / F unit) (not shown). The control unit (hereinafter abbreviated as "management device 6") inputs game signals output from the gaming machine side devices such as the gaming machine 1 and the gaming device 2, or each device in the gaming facility such as a POS and a settlement machine via the communication unit, thereby managing the operating status of each device. The communication unit of the management device 6 includes a wireless communication unit 6' for transmitting and receiving wireless signals to and from the employee device 10 (see FIG. 6 described later).

[0014] The gaming machine 1 shown in Fig. 1 is a so-called smart gaming machine that stores and manages the balance owned by the player, gaming points converted from the above-mentioned points and deposited points. The gaming device 2 shown in the figure has a coin insertion slot 2a into which coins are inserted, a touch panel type liquid crystal display unit 2b, a button group 2c for accepting lending operations, issuance operations, etc., a card insertion slot 2d into which an IC card 7 is inserted, and an I / F unit (not shown) for transmitting various signals and various data between the management device 6 and the gaming machine 1, etc. In addition, the specific configurations of the gaming machine 1 and the gaming device 2 may be those described in patent documents filed by the applicant (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-148536, etc.), and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0015] As described in the "Background Art" section, in game arcades, employees in charge of customer service carry intercoms, through which voice messages from the management device 6 and instructions from the manager are conveyed. Employees wear earphones connected to the intercoms, but since the intercom voice is often output suddenly, and there are also cases where the intercom voice is output during a conversation with a player, making it difficult to hear the player, the majority of game arcades only provide one earphone for the intercom. In this regard, there are various noises within an amusement facility, such as the sound effects of the gaming machine 1, and noises made when transporting or polishing gaming media (such as balls) that are replenished to the gaming machine 1 by a replenishing device (not shown), and there are occasional cases of employees suffering from hearing loss, which is becoming a problem.

[0016] Therefore, unlike conventional intercoms (including the above-mentioned earphones), the employee device 10 of this embodiment is equipped with the right earphone unit 21R and the left earphone unit 21L shown in FIG. 2, an output processing unit 23 (see FIG. 6) that outputs an audio signal input from the management device 6 or the like to both the right earphone unit 21R and the left earphone unit 21L, 21R, 21L, and a noise cancellation unit 24 (see FIG. 6) that activates a noise cancellation function that performs processing to remove noise from sounds picked up by the microphone units 22R and 22L as sound pickup microphones, and outputs the processed audio signals to both earphone units 21R and 21L. When performing one-ear processing in which the output of the audio signal by the output processing unit 23 is suppressed for one of the earphone units 21R and 21L but the suppression is not performed for the other, the noise cancellation function is activated for both earphone units.

[0017] 2 shows the earphone device 11 and the intercom device 12, which constitute the employee device 10 for employees, together with their connecting cable C1. Since the intercom device 12 can have a general configuration similar to that of a conventional intercom, the intercom device 12 will be described first.

[0018] The intercom device 12 of the employee device 10 is a so-called wireless device capable of wireless communication with other wireless communication devices 6'10' (see FIG. 6) within the gaming facility, and includes an intercom main body 13 and a microphone 15. As shown in FIG. 2, the intercom main body 13 is in the form of a narrow rectangular plate of a size that can be stored in a clothing pocket or a dedicated case that can be hung from a belt, and has an operation section 13a consisting of a group of operation buttons on its main surface (front surface).

[0019] The microphone 15 has a pickup section (microphone section) 15a for picking up the voice of the employee at the tip of a grip section 15b that can be held by fingers. The microphone 15 also has a main body cord 15c extending from the base end of the grip section 15b, and is connected to the intercom main body 13 via a connector 15d at the end of the main body cord 15c. The microphone 15 is provided with a clip 15e located on the side of the grip 15b for fastening the microphone 15a to the chest area of ​​clothing, and a connection portion 15f (e.g., a jack) for receiving a connector C1a (e.g., a plug) of the connection cable C1 located on the base end side of the grip 15b. This enables communication including transmission of audio signals between the intercom main body 13 and the microphone 15a or between the intercom main body 13 and the earphone device 11 via the main body cord 15c or the connection cable C1.

[0020] 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic electrical configuration of the intercom device 12 and the earphone device 11. As shown on the left side of the figure, the intercom device 12 includes the operation unit 13a, the microphone unit 15a, and the connection unit 15f described above, as well as a wireless communication unit 16 and a control unit 20a mounted on the intercom main body 13.

[0021] Although detailed illustration is omitted, the wireless communication unit 16 of the intercom device 12 includes a communication circuit and an antenna for wireless communication with the wireless communication unit 6' of the management device 6 and other intercom devices 12'. Note that another employee device 10' equipped with another intercom device 12' has the same configuration as the employee device 10 in Fig. 2, but is represented by the symbol "10'" in Fig. 6 (also referred to as another wireless communication device 10') to distinguish between the two devices 10 and 10'.

[0022] The control unit 20a of the intercom device 12 shown in Fig. 6 is mainly composed of a microcomputer having a CPU and a storage unit 19a. The control unit 20a demodulates the wireless signal received by the antenna in the wireless communication unit 16, and modulates the audio signal input from the microphone unit 15a, thereby controlling the wireless communication unit 16 to transmit and receive audio signals.

[0023] As a result, the voice output from the management device 6 and the manager's instructions are wirelessly received by the intercom device 12 (received as an audio signal by the employee device 10), while when an employee speaks into the microphone section 15a, the voice is wirelessly output through the intercom device 12 to other employees' intercom devices 12' (employee devices 10') and the manager, enabling communication. The audio signal received by the intercom device 12 is output as audio from the earphones 21R, 21L via the main body cord 15c and the connection cable C1 of the intercom main body 13 (hereinafter, the audio output through the intercom main body 13 is also referred to as intercom audio). The intercom volume at which the intercom audio is output can be adjusted according to the operation of the operation unit 13a (volume button) of the intercom main body 13.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 2, the earphone device 11 includes a right earphone unit 21R and a left earphone unit 21L, a battery unit 26 connected to both the earphone units 21R, 21L via cords 25R, 25L, respectively, and microphone units 22R, 22L disposed to correspond to the earphone units 21R, 21L.

[0025] The right earphone unit 21R has a housing (casing 30R) that contains an electroacoustic conversion element (not shown) that converts an input audio signal into a sound wave and outputs it, and also has a sound emission tube 30a (see FIG. 5) that emits sound waves to one side of the housing 30R. This makes it possible to wear the right earphone unit 21R by inserting the sound emission tube 30a into the right ear canal.

[0026] The right earphone unit 21R is integrally provided with a right microphone unit 22R located on the other side of the housing 30R. The right microphone unit 22R is an NC (noise cancellation) microphone that performs processing to remove noise from sounds picked up as a sound pickup microphone. A common cord 25R that integrates wiring connected to the battery housing 31 side is drawn out from the right earphone unit 21R and the right microphone unit 22R.

[0027] Similarly, the left earphone unit 21L has an electroacoustic conversion element housed in a housing 30L and has a sound emission tube 30a that emits sound waves from one side of the housing 30L. This allows the left earphone unit 21L to be worn by inserting the sound emission tube 30a into the left ear canal. A left microphone unit 22L is provided integrally with the left earphone unit 21L, located on the other side of the housing 30L. The left microphone unit 22L is an NC microphone that performs processing to remove noise from the sound picked up as a sound pickup microphone. A common cord 25L that integrates wiring to connect to the battery housing 31 side is drawn out from the left earphone unit 21L and the left microphone unit 22L.

[0028] 3 is an enlarged view showing the battery housing 31 together with the cords 25R and 25L. The battery housing 31 is a housing that houses the battery unit 26 that supplies power to the earphone device 11, and is formed into a rectangular rod shape with an outer shell that is small enough to fit in a clothing pocket (see FIG. 4(a)). As shown in FIG. 3, the battery housing 31 is an intermediate housing that is connected to the cords 25R, 25L at one end in the longitudinal direction and has a connection portion 31b at the other end that receives the connector C1b of the connection cable C1 (see FIG. 2).

[0029] In addition, the connection portion 31b of the battery housing 31 is, for example, an input / output terminal (USB socket) configured based on the USB (registered trademark) standard, and in addition to the connector C1b of the connection cable C1, the connector C2b (see the dashed double-dashed line in Figure 6) of an AC adapter for charging the battery portion 26 can also be connected as a USB connector.

[0030] In addition, in FIG. 6, for ease of explanation, the cable C2 and connector C2b of the AC adapter (charging means 27) are shown by dashed double-dashed lines, and the connection portion 31b for the connector C2b and the connection portion 31b for the connector C1b of the connection cable C1 are shown as a shared connection portion with the same reference symbol "31b." Of these, the connection portion 31b to which the charging means 27 is connected may be provided separately as a power receiving portion for contactlessly charging the battery portion 26, i.e., a power receiving coil to which power is transmitted contactlessly from a power transmitting coil not shown, or may be provided separately as a USB socket to which a cable of another charging means 27 (for example, a connection cable to a personal computer or the like not shown) is connected.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 3, a battery clip 32 is provided on one side of the battery housing 31, and operation units 28 and 29 that receive operations by employees are provided on the other side. The battery clip 32 has a rectangular plate shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the battery housing 31 (the up-down direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3), and is configured such that the clamping portion 32a at the tip end is biased in the closing direction (the clamping direction toward the one side surface) by a spring member (not shown) provided on the pivot shaft 32b at the base end. This allows the battery housing 31 or the clamping portion 32a to be clamped and locked by the battery clip 32 by being inserted into a clothing pocket or the like around the chest, as shown in FIG. 4(a).

[0032] The operation units 28, 29 include a volume / mode operation unit 28 and a power operation unit 29 arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction of the battery housing 31 shown in FIG. The volume / mode operation unit 28 has a volume "+" button 28a and a volume "-" button 28b indicated by "+" and "-" in the figure. Each of the buttons 28a and 28b (also referred to as operation units 28a and 28b) is assigned a command for increasing or decreasing the volume level (volume of the audio signal) of both earphone units 21R and 21L by one step in response to a single pressing operation, and the volume can be adjusted in five steps, for example.

[0033] In addition, the volume / mode operation unit 28 is set to accept a first volume operation for adjusting the volume for the hearing-impaired and a second volume operation for adjusting the volume to a volume not for the hearing-impaired as different operations, and is also set to accept a switching operation for the audio output mode between a one-ear mode for performing the one-ear processing and a both-ear mode for performing the both-ear processing, which will be described in more detail later.

[0034] The power supply operation unit 29 is slidably disposed in a slide groove 29a extending in the longitudinal direction of the battery housing 31, and is configured to switch the power supply of the earphone device 11 on and off by a sliding operation between the on position and the off position indicated by "ON" and "OFF" in FIG. 3. In addition, the battery housing 31 is provided with a notification lamp unit 33 located near the power supply operation unit 29. The notification lamp unit 33 normally lights up in a predetermined display color (e.g., green) (when the power supply is on), and notifies by switching to a flashing display of the same display color during charging (power supply).

[0035] As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of cords 25R, 25L are provided with sliders 34 for branching the respective cords 25R, 25L to adjust the cord length on the earphone part 21R, 21L side, and a locking clip 35 is provided that is positioned between one of the earphone parts (e.g., the right earphone part 21R) and the slider 34 to bundle one of the cords (e.g., cord 25R) and then lock it to the employee's clothing.

[0036] The slider 34 is an adjustment part that is slidably inserted into the pair of cords 25R, 25L and has a rectangular tubular shape with a relatively small diameter corresponding to the diameter of those cords. The slider 34 is slid along the cords 25R, 25L (sliding in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3), so that the cord length of the earphone parts 21R, 21L branching off from the slider 34 can be adjusted to any length as shown in FIG. 2.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 5, the locking clip 35 is configured by opposing a pair of clamping members 35b, 35b (only one of the planar shapes is shown in the figure), each of which has a substantially rectangular plate shape, and by assembling a spring member (not shown) between the clamping members 35b, 35b. That is, the locking clip 35 has clamping members 35b, 35b configured, for example, like clothes pegs, and the clamping members 35b, 35b are provided with thickened clamping portions 35a, 35a at one longitudinal end thereof and engaging protrusions 35c, 35c which engage with each other at the longitudinal middle portion thereof, and are biased in the clamping direction by the biasing force of the spring member in which the clamping portions 35a, 35a clamp.

[0038] 4(a) to 4(c) show an example of how to wear the earphones 21R, 21L in both ears, and a method of using the locking clip 35 will be described below. That is, first, as shown in FIG. 4(a), the battery housing 31 is secured in the employee's clothing pocket by the battery clip 32, the right earphone unit 21R is worn with its sound emission tube 30a inserted into the right ear canal (see FIGS. 5 and 4(b)), and the left earphone unit 21L is worn with its sound emission tube 30a inserted into the left ear canal. In this case, the cord 25R of the right earphone 21R is passed behind the neck as shown in FIG. 4(b) and is fastened and secured by a fastening clip 35 at the collar (the back of the collar of clothing) as shown in FIG.

[0039] On the other hand, when the earphone unit is attached to one ear (for example, the left ear), the slider 34 is slid close to the battery case 31 as shown in FIG. 3 so that both cords 25R, 25L can be routed independently over almost their entire length. 5, the cord 25R of the right earphone 21R that is not being worn is gathered (wound and bundled) on the battery housing 31 side, and then locked in a clothing pocket on the chest area by the locking clip 35, similar to the battery clip 32 in Fig. 4(a). In this case, although not shown, the locking clip 35 can lock the bundled cord 25R together with the right earphone 21R in a state where it is stored in a clothing pocket together with the battery housing 31, and the left earphone 21L can be worn by inserting the sound emission tube 30a into the left ear canal as described above.

[0040] For ease of explanation, FIG. 5 shows the slider 34 exaggeratedly at a position slightly away from the battery housing 31. However, even at this distant position, the cord 25R can be compactly bundled by the locking clip 35 and locked at the desired position on the clothing (locking position spaced away from the battery housing 31). Also, in consideration of the preference of employees who wish to wear the earphones on their right ear rather than their left ear, the cord 25L of the left earphone unit 21L may be stored together in a locking clip 35 as shown in Fig. 5, and the right earphone unit 21R may be worn. In either case, the locking clip 35 functions as a locking part that is detachably provided on one of the cords 25R, 25L to prevent the cords from falling off.

[0041] As shown in the block diagram on the right side of FIG. 6, the earphone device 11 has the above-mentioned earphone units 21R, 21L and NC microphone units 22R, 22L connected to a battery housing 31, which is equipped with volume / mode operation units 28a, 28b, a power operation unit 29, and an alert lamp unit 33. The earphone device 11 also includes a connection section 31b in the battery housing 31 that is connected to the connection cable C1 or the charging means 27, a battery section 26, and a control section 20b.

[0042] The control unit 20b of the earphone device 11 is mainly composed of a microcomputer having a CPU and a storage unit 19b. The control unit 20b of the earphone device 11 communicates with the control unit 20a of the intercom device 12 via a connection cable C1, and cooperates with the control unit 20a to control the entire employee device 10. The control units 20b and 20a may be configured as a single control unit that collectively controls the entire employee device 10, and will be referred to as the "control unit 20" below for ease of explanation. Similarly, the memory units 19b and 19a in the employee device 10 will be referred to as the "memory unit 19." Note that, although this embodiment illustrates an example in which the control units 20a and 20b cooperate to control the entire employee device 10, the control units of each device may of course independently control each device.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 20 includes an output processing unit 23 as an output means, and a noise canceling unit 24 as a noise canceling means. The output processing unit 23 outputs the audio signal (the intercom audio input via wireless communication) input from the management device 6 or another employee device 10' via the wireless communication unit 16 to both earphone units 21R, 21L.

[0044] The noise canceling unit 24 performs a process to remove noise from the external sounds picked up by both the NC microphone units 22R and 22L, and outputs the processed audio signals to both the earphone units 21R and 21L. In this case, the noise canceling unit 24 has an ANC (active noise canceling) function by executing a process of canceling the external noise by generating a signal with an inverted phase of the noise signal of the external sound. Also, the noise canceling unit 24 may be configured with a noise canceling circuit or the like that removes the external noise by operating the noise canceling function, and may employ other NC functions such as CVC (clear voice capture) instead of the ANC function.

[0045] When the power of the earphone device 11 is on (the power operation unit 29 is in the on position), the control unit 20 always operates the NC function to automatically detect noise, and controls the noise cancellation unit 24 to superimpose only the audio signal from which the noise has been removed on the audio signal output by the output processing unit 23 and output it to both earphone units 21R, 21L.

[0046] When the one-ear mode is set in the volume / mode operation unit 28, the control unit 20 executes one-ear processing to suppress the output of the audio signal by, for example, setting the output target of the audio signal (intercom audio) output by the output processing unit 23 to only the right earphone unit 21R or only the left earphone unit 21L, and not setting the left earphone unit 21L or the right earphone unit 21R as the output target.

[0047] Furthermore, when the binaural mode is set in the volume / mode operation unit 28, the control unit 20 performs binaural processing that does not suppress the output of the audio signal from the earphone units 21R, 21L by setting the output target of the audio signal output by the output processing unit 23 to both earphone units 21R, 21L.

[0048] Next, an operation method for adjusting the volume level of the above-mentioned earphone units 21R and 21L and an operation method for switching the audio output mode (abbreviated as mode) to either the one-ear mode or the both-ear mode will be described. Here, the employee device 10 is configured by connecting the earphone device 11 and the intercom device 12 shown in FIG. 2 with a connection cable C1, and the employee wears the earphone units 21R, 21L on both ears (FIGS. 4(a) to (c)), or, as shown in FIG. 5, the cord 25R bound with a fastening clip 35 is fastened to clothing and the earphone unit 21L is worn on one ear, and then the following operations are performed.

[0049] That is, first, the volume of the audio signal including the intercom audio is adjustable and controlled by the control unit 20 in response to the operation of the volume / mode operation units 28a and 28b. In this case, each time the volume "+" button 28a or the volume "-" button 28b described in Fig. 3 is pressed, the volume of both earphone units 21R, 21L is increased or decreased by one step, so that the volume can be adjusted to five volume levels, and the set value of the volume level is notified. For example, when the volume is set to the third level, the set value of the volume level "3" is notified by outputting an alert sound consisting of three separate beeps (beep, beep, beep) or an alert sound such as "Volume is 3" from earphone units 21R, 21L.

[0050] The volume level may be set to, for example, a default value of "2," or an equivalent volume that does not increase or decrease from the intercom volume. Also, the setting value "1" is set as a suppressed volume, and "3" to "5" are set as volumes for the hard of hearing, with the maximum volume being set to a volume that cannot be output by a general-purpose product, taking into consideration employees who are already hard of hearing.

[0051] For this reason, in the volume / mode operation unit 28, a first volume operation when adjusting to a setting value of "3" to "5" for the hearing-impaired is to press and hold the volume "+" button 28a for one second, and a second volume operation when adjusting from a setting value of the suppressed volume "1" not for the hearing-impaired to a setting value of the normal volume "2" may be configured to only press (excluding a long press) the volume "+" button 28a. This is because the volume / mode operation unit 28 accepts the first volume operation and the second volume operation as different operations by assigning a command for adjusting to the volume for the hearing-impaired separately from a command for adjusting to a volume not for the hearing-impaired.

[0052] The mode is the output manner in which the sound received via wireless communication is output from both earphone units 21R, 21L, the right side only, or the left side only, and corresponds to a both-ear mode, a one-ear mode in which output is stopped only on the left side, and a one-ear mode in which output is stopped only on the right side. To switch modes, press and hold the volume "+" button 28a and the volume "-" button 28b simultaneously (for example, for about 2 seconds) on the volume / mode operation unit 28, and a beep will be output from the earphone units 21R, 21L to indicate that the operation is accepted. By repeating this operation, the mode will be switched from both → right side only → left side only → both.

[0053] The operation acceptance sound shall be the same regardless of the mode being switched to, but like the notification sound when adjusting the volume, an operation acceptance sound according to the mode, such as "beep" for both ears and "beep, beep" for the right ear, or another operation acceptance sound such as "You are in both ears mode" may be output. Although the operation acceptance sound may be output from the earphone unit corresponding to the switched mode, taking into consideration the case where earphone unit 21L is worn on one ear (one cord 25R is bundled and stored in a pocket as shown in FIG. 5), the operation acceptance sound may be output from both earphone units 21R, 21L even when switched to the one-ear mode. This is to ensure that the operation acceptance sound is not missed when switched to the one-ear mode where only the earphone unit that is not worn is output.

[0054] By operating the volume / mode operation unit 28 as described above, it is possible to suit the employee's desired operating mode. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when either one-ear processing or both-ear processing is being performed by switching the mode as described above, the control unit 20 controls both earphone units 21R, 21L to activate the NC function regardless of the mode. Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram summarizing the advantages and disadvantages of the combinations of the selective wearing manners and modes of the earphone units 21R, 21L.

[0055] Here, No. 1 in FIG. 7 shows the case where the earphone units 21R, 21L are worn on both ears in binaural mode, No. 2 shows the case where the earphone units 21R, 21L are worn on both ears but in either one-ear mode, and No. 3 shows the case where they are worn on only one ear. In No.1, the earphone parts 21R, 21L worn on both ears can be expected to have the advantage of minimizing noise with the NC function and making the intercom audio easy to hear, but it is anticipated that there will be a disadvantage in that, for example, when talking to a player, the intercom audio will be output, making it difficult to hear surrounding sounds such as the player's voice.

[0056] In No. 2, the earphone parts 21R and 21L worn on both ears can be expected to have the advantage of minimizing noise through the NC function and making it easy to hear both the intercom voice and the above-mentioned surrounding sounds, but it is anticipated that there will be a disadvantage in that it will be somewhat difficult to hear surrounding sounds. In No. 3, the earphone unit 21L worn in one ear can be expected to have the advantages of suppressing noise through the NC function and making the intercom audio easier to hear, but it is anticipated that there will be a disadvantage in that noise will enter the ear not wearing the earphone unit 21R, posing a risk of hearing loss.

[0057] In this case, a combination of No.1 and No.3 is also possible. That is, in the binaural mode, the earphone units 21R and 21L are attached to both ears as in No.1, and when talking to a player, the earphone unit in the player's ear is removed. In this case, although it is possible to cover the disadvantage of No.1, in that it is difficult to hear surrounding sounds due to the intercom sound, it is difficult to cover the disadvantage of No.3 when talking to a player. On the other hand, in order to cover the disadvantage of No. 2, it is also possible to imagine using the earphone part that does not output sound only when it is difficult to hear due to the NC function when talking to the player.In this case, it is expected that it will be easier to respond to unexpected surrounding sounds, such as a player calling out to you.

[0058] When the earphone device 11 is used in the manner described above, if the remaining charge in the battery unit 26 becomes low, a confirmation sound is emitted from the earphone units 21R, 21L and the notification lamp unit 33 switches from a green light to a flashing light to notify the user that charging is necessary. In this case, two notification stages are provided. The first stage is when the battery level is so low that earphone units 21R and 21L cannot function. In this case, notification is given by the confirmation sound and switching display described above.

[0059] On the other hand, the other notification time is set to the second stage when the battery level is almost low enough that the NC function will no longer function. In this case, as a notification different from the above notification, for example, the NC function can be switched on and off (operated and not operated) every predetermined time (for example, 1 second), or the volume can be switched every predetermined time (for example, the current volume and a volume two steps lower, or if the volume cannot be lowered two steps, the volume can be increased two steps, etc.).

[0060] Charging of the battery unit 26 is started by connecting the cable C2 (see connector C2b in FIG. 6) of the charging means 27 such as an AC adapter to the connection part 31b of the battery housing 31. As a result, if the power supply operation unit 29 is in the ON position while charging is being performed, the power supply is switched to the OFF state.

[0061] That is, even if the power supply operation unit 29 is in the ON position and the power supply is in the ON state as shown in FIG. 3, the power supply is switched to the OFF state at the point when the control unit 20 detects the start of charging. Alternatively, the device is switched to a power saving state in which the NC function is not activated. The power saving state refers to a low power consumption state (sleep mode) in which the device operates with less power than normal by not activating the NC function and not driving the wireless communication unit 16, and both the power saving state and the power off state correspond to a power suppression state.

[0062] Furthermore, when power supply is no longer provided, for example, when charging of the battery unit 26 is completed and the cable C2 of the charging means 27 is disconnected, the power suppression state is maintained even if the power operation unit 29 is in the ON position. This means that when the charging is completed with the power operation unit 29 remaining in the ON position, the control unit 20 maintains the power OFF state or the power saving state. In this case, to turn on the power, the power operation unit 29 is first slid to the OFF position and then back to the ON position, and the power is turned on when the power operation unit 29 is returned to the ON position. Note that if the power operation unit 29 is slid from the OFF position to the ON position while charging is in progress, the power will still remain in the OFF state.

[0063] As described above, the earphone device 11 for use in an amusement park in this embodiment includes an output processing unit 23 that outputs an audio signal input, for example as intercom audio via wireless communication, to both earphone units 21R, 21L, a noise cancellation unit 24 that activates an NC function that performs processing to remove noise from the sound picked up by the microphone units 22R, 22L and outputs the processed audio signal to both earphone units 21R, 21L, and a control unit 20 that controls to activate the NC function for both earphone units 21R, 21L when performing one-ear processing in which output of an audio signal by the output processing unit 23 is suppressed for one of the earphone units 21R, 21L but the suppression is not performed for the other earphone unit.

[0064] According to this, for example, the audio output of one earphone unit 21R is suppressed by stopping it, but the other earphone unit 21L is not stopped, and furthermore, the one earphone unit 21R whose audio output has been stopped activates the NC function in the same way as the other earphone unit 21L. Therefore, while stopping the audio output of one earphone unit 21R reduces the risk of the player's voice becoming difficult to hear, the NC function that supports both ears can reduce the risk of the employee becoming hard of hearing.

[0065] The control unit 20 can execute both earphone units 21R, 21L processing, which does not suppress the output of intercom sound by the output processing unit 23, and one-ear processing, and switches between them in response to an operation on the volume / mode operation unit 28, for example. Regardless of which processing is being executed, the control unit 20 controls both earphone units 21R, 21L to activate the NC function.

[0066] According to this, for example, by operating the volume / mode operation unit 28, it is possible to switch between both ear mode and one ear mode, and in any corresponding process, the NC function is activated in the earphone units 21R, 21L of both ears, so that it is possible to switch to a mode corresponding to No. 1 or No. 2 in Figure 7 depending on the employee's preference, mood, or TPO. In either case, the risk of employees becoming hard of hearing due to the NC function of both ears or having difficulty hearing the intercom sound due to noise in the amusement facility can be reduced.

[0067] The earphone device 11 includes a slider 34 for branching the respective cords 25R, 25L connected to the battery unit 26 as shown in FIG. 2 to adjust the cord length on the earphone unit 21R, 21L side, and a locking clip 35 that is provided, for example, between one of the earphone units 21R and the slider 34 and is used to bundle one of the cords 25R as shown in FIG. 5 and then lock it to the employee's clothing.

[0068] According to this, by sliding the slider 34, the cord length of the earphone units 21R, 21L side branching from the slider 34 can be adjusted, one cord 25R is bundled and fixed, and the bundled cord 25R and the earphone unit 21R can function as a locking part to prevent them from falling when stored in an employee's pocket, and when the earphone unit 21R is worn on only one ear as in the conventional case as shown in No. 3 in Fig. 7, the earphone unit 21R that is not worn can be stored in the pocket together with the battery unit 26 at its base part close to the battery unit 26. This reduces the risk of the unnecessary cord 25R getting in the way, for example, when the gaming machine 1 is opened, such as the cord 25R of the earphone unit 21R that is not worn getting caught on the gaming machine 1, while when the earphone units 21R, 21L are worn on both ears as shown in No. 1 and No. 2 in Fig. 7, the cord length can be shortened by sliding the slider 34, and the unnecessary cord length is prevented, thereby reducing the risk of the unnecessary cord getting in the way.

[0069] The control unit 20 controls the volume of the audio signal from the output processing unit 23 so that it can be adjusted, for example, in response to an operation at the volume / mode operation unit 28, and is configured to accept a first volume operation at the operation unit 28 for adjusting the volume to a volume for the hearing-impaired and a second volume operation for adjusting the volume to a volume not for the hearing-impaired as different operations. According to this, by making the first volume operation and the second volume operation different, it is possible to reduce the risk that an employee who is not hearing-impaired will mistakenly operate the volume to a level suitable for the hearing-impaired, resulting in a high volume for the hearing-impaired.

[0070] The device is provided with a power supply operation unit 29 for switching the power on and off by an employee sliding the power between the on and off positions, and when the power supply operation unit 29 is in the on position and charging is being performed by the charging means 27, the control unit 20 transitions to a power off state or a power saving state in which the device operates with less power than normal, and when charging is completed with the power supply operation unit 29 remaining in the on position, the control unit 20 maintains the power off state or the power saving state.

[0071] Since the power supply operation unit 29 is a so-called slide switch, whether the power supply is on or off can be confirmed by the position of the slide switch, and the need for a separate LED for visually confirming the on or off state can be reduced. In addition, if charging is performed with the slide switch in the on position, the power supply can be shifted to a power suppression state, reducing the risk of discharging while charging with the power supply on. Furthermore, since the power suppression state is maintained even if charging is completed with the slide switch in the on position, the risk of discharging when the power supply is turned on after charging can be reduced.

[0072] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be modified or expanded as follows. In addition, the configurations illustrated may be combined in any manner, including modified examples, or may not be adopted as appropriate.

[0073] Although the example of suppressing audio output has been given by not outputting, i.e. prohibiting it, other suppression methods may be adopted, such as setting the volume lower than the non-suppressed side, not outputting only specific sound waves, or not outputting audio continuously for a predetermined period of time or more. Although a clip is exemplified as a stopper member for preventing falling, a stopper member not exemplified, such as Velcro (registered trademark), may be used as long as it is a stopper member. The slider 34 exemplified as the adjustment unit may also adopt a configuration not exemplified, such as a configuration in which the cords 25R, 25L on the power supply unit side are connected using a mechanism such as a fastener.

[0074] Although the example shows that the volume can be adjusted on the intercom main unit, it may be connected to an intercom that does not allow volume adjustment. Also, although the example shows the mode-switchable earphone device 11, the present invention may be adopted in an earphone device that does not allow mode switching. In that case, it is preferable to adopt the form shown in No. 2 of FIG. 7. Although the battery unit is provided with an operating unit such as a volume button, the battery unit and the operating unit may be provided separately. Also, although the mode is switched by the volume button, the volume operating means and the mode switching means may not be combined and may be provided separately.

[0075] Although a slide switch is shown as an example of the power operation unit 29, a button type such as a volume button may be used. Similarly, the operation unit may take any form, such as a slide switch as a volume operation means or a mode switching means. The numerical values, number of digits, items, etc. are merely examples, and any numerical values ​​may be used. The employee device 10 may be configured to connect the earphone device 11 and the intercom device 12 by wireless communication, or may be configured as a single device having the functions of both devices 11 and 12. The sound pickup microphones may also be modified as appropriate, for example by changing the mounting positions of the microphones 22R and 22L. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] In the drawings, reference numeral 10 denotes the employee device, 11 denotes an earphone device, 21R denotes a right earphone unit, 20 denotes a control unit (control means), 21L denotes a left earphone unit, 22R denotes a right microphone unit (sound collection microphone), 22L denotes a left microphone unit (sound collection microphone), 23 denotes an output processing unit (output means), 24 denotes a noise cancellation unit (noise cancellation means), 25R and 25L are cords, 26 denotes a battery unit, 28 denotes a volume / mode operation unit (operation unit), 29 denotes a power operation unit (operation unit), 34 denotes a slider (adjustment unit), and 35 denotes a locking clip (locking unit).

Claims

1. An earphone device for employees at an amusement facility, comprising: A right earphone part that can be attached to the right ear and a left earphone part that can be attached to the left ear; an output unit that outputs an input audio signal to both the right earphone unit and the left earphone unit; a noise canceling unit that operates a noise canceling function that performs processing to remove noise from the sound picked up by the sound pickup microphone and outputs the processed audio signal to both of the earphone units; An earphone device for an amusement park comprising: a control means for controlling to activate the noise cancellation function for both earphone units when performing one-ear processing in which the output of the audio signal by the output means is suppressed for one of the two earphone units but the suppression is not performed for the other.

2. Equipped with an operation unit that accepts operations by employees, The earphone device for an amusement park according to claim 1, wherein the control means is capable of executing both earphone units' binaural processing, which does not suppress the output of the audio signal by the output means, and the one-ear processing, switching between the two processing modes in response to an operation on the operation unit, and controlling both earphone units to activate the noise cancellation function regardless of which processing mode is being executed.

3. a battery unit connected to each of the earphone units via a cord; an adjustment unit for adjusting the length of each of the cords on the earphone unit side by branching the cords; 3. The earphone device for use in an amusement park according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a fastening portion provided between the one earphone portion and the adjustment portion, for bundling the one cord and fastening it to clothing of an employee.

4. Equipped with an operation unit that accepts operations by employees, The earphone device for an amusement park as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the control means controls the volume of the audio signal from the output means so that it can be adjusted in response to operation on the operation unit, and is configured to accept a first volume operation on the operation unit that adjusts the volume to a volume for the hearing-impaired and a second volume operation that adjusts the volume to a volume not for the hearing-impaired as different operations.

5. a battery unit for supplying power to the earphone device; an operating unit operated by an employee, the operating unit being for switching the power on and off by a sliding operation between an on position and an off position; a connection portion to which a charging means for charging the battery portion is connected, The earphone device for an amusement park as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the control means transitions the power to an off state or to a power-saving state in which the power is operated with less power than normal when the power operating unit is in the on position and charging is being performed by the charging means, and maintains the power to the off state or the power-saving state when charging is completed with the power operating unit remaining in the on position.

Images