Room acoustic evaluation system and acoustic evaluation method

Abstract

To provide an indoor acoustic evaluation system capable of studying space acoustics even by a designer who does not have technical knowledge about acoustics.SOLUTION: The indoor acoustic evaluation system includes: a storage unit that stores different combinations of acoustic evaluation items, which are items for evaluating acoustics, and evaluation criteria in the acoustic evaluation items, depending on the indoor use of the space to be evaluated for acoustics; an acquisition unit that acquires acoustic data that is a calculation result of acoustic simulation of a space to be evaluated; an input unit that accepts input for an indoor use that specifies the indoor use; an evaluation rule selection unit that reads the acoustic evaluation item according to the input indoor use and the evaluation criteria from the storage unit; and a determination unit that determines the calculation result corresponding to the acoustic evaluation item read by the evaluation rule selection unit among the calculation results included in the acoustic data, using the evaluation criteria specified in the acoustic evaluation item, and obtains the determination result.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a room acoustic evaluation system and an acoustic evaluation method. [Background technology]

[0002] In spaces where music or speech is listened to, such as halls and auditoriums, appropriate room acoustic design is important to ensure appropriate reverberation, sufficient volume, clarity, etc., and to prevent acoustic problems such as flutter echo. When designing buildings such as halls and auditoriums where acoustic considerations are deemed necessary, room acoustic evaluation indices such as reverberation time, intelligibility, and sound pressure level distribution, which vary depending on the shape of the room and the type of finishing materials, are predicted and evaluated using calculations based on statistical theory or simulations based on geometry or wave theory, and specifications are determined based on the results. As a calculation and simulation technique for indoor acoustic evaluation indexes, acoustic analysis software is commercially available, and general construction companies and architectural acoustic consultants have developed and are using their own indoor acoustic simulation systems (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 3-194599 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in order to perform a room acoustics simulation using commercially available acoustic analysis software or software such as that described in Patent Document 1, and to calculate and evaluate room acoustics evaluation indexes, knowledge and techniques related to simulation as well as specialized knowledge related to acoustics are required. However, designers who design buildings do not necessarily have knowledge and techniques related to simulations or specialized knowledge about acoustics. Therefore, it is difficult for designers to conduct acoustic studies by themselves, and they generally need to do so with the cooperation of architectural acoustic experts or specialist companies. In this case, acoustic studies take time and are expensive. On the other hand, the volume of the building, the room shape, the seating arrangement, and other decisions made in the early stages of design have a large impact on the room acoustics, so when designing a building that requires acoustic considerations, such as a hall or auditorium, it is necessary to start acoustical considerations from the early stages of design.However, due to the reasons mentioned above, at present it is difficult for designers who do not have specialized knowledge of acoustics to carry out such considerations from the early stages on their own.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its object is to provide a room acoustics evaluation system and acoustics evaluation method that enable even a designer who does not have specialized knowledge of acoustics to study the acoustics of a space. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the present invention includes a storage unit (e.g., storage unit 120) that stores different combinations of acoustic evaluation items, which are items for evaluating acoustics, and evaluation criteria for the acoustic evaluation items, depending on the room use of the space to be evaluated for acoustics; an acquisition unit (e.g., control unit 150) that acquires acoustic data that is a calculation result of an acoustic simulation performed on the space to be evaluated; an input unit (e.g., room use input unit 130) that accepts an input of a room use that specifies the room use; an evaluation rule selection unit (e.g., evaluation rule selection unit 140) that reads out from the storage unit the acoustic evaluation items and the evaluation criteria corresponding to the input room use; and a calculation unit (e.g., evaluation rule selection unit 150) that selects, from among the calculation results included in the acoustic data, the calculation results that correspond to the acoustic evaluation items read out by the evaluation rule selection unit, and performs an evaluation on the acoustic evaluation items. Mapping and a determination unit (for example, the determination unit 220) that performs a determination using the evaluation criteria that have been set and obtains the determination result.

[0007] Another aspect of the present invention is an acoustic evaluation method executed by a room acoustic evaluation system, in which an acquisition unit of the room acoustic evaluation system acquires acoustic data which is a calculation result of an acoustic simulation performed on a space to be evaluated, an input unit of the room acoustic evaluation system accepts an input of a room use specifying a room use of the space to be evaluated for acoustics, an evaluation rule selection unit of the room acoustic evaluation system refers to a storage unit that stores different combinations of acoustic evaluation items which are items for evaluating acoustics and evaluation criteria for the acoustic evaluation items according to the room use, reads out from the storage unit the acoustic evaluation items and the evaluation criteria according to the input room use, and a judgment unit of the room acoustic evaluation system judges, for calculation results included in the acoustic data that correspond to the acoustic evaluation items read out by the evaluation rule selection unit, the calculation results corresponding to the acoustic evaluation items read out by the evaluation rule selection unit, based on the acoustic evaluation items. Mapping This is an acoustic evaluation method in which a judgment is made using a set of evaluation criteria and a judgment result is obtained. Effect of the Invention

[0008] As described above, according to the present invention, even a designer who does not have specialized knowledge about acoustics can study the acoustics of a space. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a room acoustics evaluation system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of reference data stored in a storage unit 120. [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the room acoustics evaluation system 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, a room acoustic evaluation system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a room acoustics evaluation system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The room acoustics evaluation system 1 includes an interface device 10, an acoustic simulation device 20, and a determination device 30. The interface device 10 provides various data required for performing an acoustic simulation to the acoustic simulation device 20. The interface device 10 provides a judgment criterion (e.g., reference data) to the determination device 30. The interface device 10 receives an evaluation result of the acoustic simulation result from the acoustic simulation device 20 and acquires from the determination device 30 an evaluation result which is a result of evaluation performed in the determination device 30. The acoustic simulation device 20 performs an acoustic simulation based on various data required for performing the acoustic simulation, which are obtained from the interface device 10, and provides the result of the acoustic simulation to the determination device 30. The determination device 30 receives the result of the acoustic simulation from the acoustic simulation device 20, performs an evaluation of the acoustics using the result of the acoustic simulation and the determination criteria, and outputs the evaluation result to the interface device 10.

[0011] The room acoustics evaluation system 1 may be realized by configuring the interface device 10, the acoustic simulation device 20, and the determination device 30 in a single computer, or the interface device 10, the acoustic simulation device 20, and the determination device 30 may each be configured in separate computers.

[0012] The interface device 10 includes a data providing unit 110, a storage unit 120, a room use input unit 130, an evaluation rule selecting unit 140, a control unit 150, and an output unit 160. In addition, input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, a display device, and the like are connected to the outside of the interface device 10. The data assignment unit 110 receives input of a room shape model representing the room shape and calculation conditions, and outputs them to the acoustic simulation device 20. The data providing unit 110 receives input of a room shape model representing the room shape and calculation conditions, etc., by operating an input device provided outside the interface device 10. The function of the data providing unit 110 may be provided in three-dimensional CAD (computer-aided design) software (hereinafter also referred to as 3D CAD software), or may function as a plug-in tool for the 3D CAD software. A room shape model is three-dimensional model data that represents the shape of a room for which acoustics are to be evaluated. This room shape model can be created using 3D CAD software. Designers generally use such 3D CAD software when designing the three-dimensional shape of the building they are designing, so when creating a room shape model, they can use the software they normally use, and therefore can create it using the knowledge that the designer already has. In other words, there is no need to use new tools to create a room shape model, so the burden on the designer to create a room shape model is low. As the 3D CAD software, for example, existing software such as Rhinoceros (manufactured by Applicraft Co., Ltd.) can be used. Also, as the plug-in tool, for example, Grasshopper (manufactured by Applicraft Co., Ltd.) can be used. The calculation conditions can include the room use, the type of finishing materials, and other various conditions for performing calculations in the room for which acoustics are to be evaluated. When inputting the calculation conditions, if the 3DCAD software has an input function, the calculation conditions may be input using the 3DCAD software, or, for calculation condition items that the 3DCAD software does not have an input function, the calculation conditions may be input using a plug-in tool for the 3DCAD software. In this case, inputting the room shape model and calculation conditions can be realized using existing general-purpose 3DCAD software and plug-in tools, making it very easy for designers to input the operations.

[0013] The storage unit 120 stores reference data. The reference data is data that includes different combinations of acoustic evaluation items, which are items for evaluating acoustics, and evaluation criteria for the acoustic evaluation items, depending on the room use of the space for which the acoustics are to be evaluated. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the reference data stored in the storage unit 120. As shown in FIG. The reference data includes the room use, acoustic evaluation items, and evaluation criteria for the evaluation items. The room use is the use of the space to be designed and the space to be evaluated for acoustics. The space to be evaluated is mainly a room divided by walls, floors, ceilings, doors, windows, etc. The use of the space is, for example, a concert hall, a multipurpose hall, a school auditorium, a multipurpose hall, a live music venue, a conference room, a classroom, etc. Here, if the use can be understood from the name of the space, such as "concert hall," the name of the space can be used as the room use. In addition to the name of the space, the use or purpose, such as "music performance use," "lecture / ceremony use," etc., can also be used as the room use. For example, for concert halls, multipurpose halls, school auditoriums, etc., whose main purpose is performances using acoustic instruments, "music performance use" can be used, and for multipurpose halls and live music venues, etc., which use electroacoustic equipment, "lecture / ceremony use" can be used.

[0014] The acoustic evaluation items are items for evaluating acoustics, and include at least one of the average sound absorption coefficient, music intelligibility, voice intelligibility, echo interference, and sound pressure distribution.

[0015] The average sound absorption coefficient represents the overall sound absorption coefficient of the room for the sound generated in the space. For example, the overall sound absorption rate of each material used in the interior (finishing materials) of the room such as the ceiling and walls is used. Music clarity indicates the degree of ease with which music can be heard when it is played using a musical instrument or the like. Speech intelligibility indicates the degree of ease with which speech can be heard. The degree of echo interference represents the degree to which a sound from a sound source is interfered with (affected by) an echo of that sound. The sound pressure distribution represents the distribution state of sound pressure in a room according to the position from which the sound is heard.

[0016] The evaluation criteria represent standards for evaluation based on acoustic evaluation items, and include values ​​representing standard ranges and evaluation results according to the standard ranges.

[0017] In Fig. 2, for example, for the room use "concert hall, multipurpose hall, school auditorium," the average sound absorption coefficient, music intelligibility, echo interference, and sound pressure distribution are associated as acoustic evaluation items. Among the acoustic evaluation items, the average sound absorption coefficient is associated with the evaluation criteria "suitable: a1-a2, consideration required: a3-a4, unsuitable: a3-a4." The evaluation criteria indicate that if the average sound absorption coefficient obtained as a result of the simulation is in the range of a1-a2, the evaluation result is "suitable," i.e., the appropriate range; if the average sound absorption coefficient obtained as a result of the simulation is in the range of a3-a4, the evaluation result is "considered," i.e., consideration is required; and if the average sound absorption coefficient obtained as a result of the simulation is in the range of a5-a6, the evaluation result is "unsuitable," i.e., the inappropriate range. Among the acoustic evaluation items, music clarity, echo interference, and sound pressure distribution are also associated with corresponding evaluation criteria.

[0018] For the room use "multipurpose hall / live music venue," the average sound absorption coefficient and echo interference degree are associated as acoustic evaluation items. The average sound absorption coefficient and echo interference degree in the acoustic evaluation items are associated with their respective evaluation standards. For room use "Conference room (medium to large) / Classroom", the average sound absorption coefficient, speech intelligibility, and echo interference are associated as acoustic evaluation items. The average sound absorption coefficient, speech intelligibility, and echo interference are associated with their own evaluation criteria. In this way, different combinations of acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria for the evaluation items are stored in the storage unit 120 according to the room use.

[0019] Here, the concert hall, multipurpose hall, and school auditorium each fall under the room use category of "concert hall, multipurpose hall, and school auditorium." In other words, the concert hall falls under the category of "concert hall, multipurpose hall, and school auditorium," and the school auditorium falls under the category of "concert hall, multipurpose hall, and school auditorium."

[0020] In addition, the rooms in the multipurpose hall and the live music venue each fall under the category of "multipurpose hall / live music venue." In other words, the multipurpose hall falls under the category of "multipurpose hall / live music venue," and the live music venue falls under the category of "multipurpose hall / live music venue."

[0021] In addition, the medium-sized conference room, the large-sized conference room, and the classroom each fall under the room use category "Conference room (medium to large) / Classroom." In other words, the medium-sized conference room falls under "Conference room (medium to large) / Classroom," and the classroom falls under "Conference room (medium to large) / Classroom."

[0022] The storage unit 120 is configured with a storage medium, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a flash memory, an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), a random access read / write memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), or any combination of these storage media. The storage unit 120 may be configured with a non-volatile memory, for example.

[0023] Next, returning to FIG. 1, the room use input unit 130 accepts an input of a room use that specifies a room use. For example, the room use input unit 130 accepts an input of a room use by operating an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse that is provided outside the interface device 10. As an example, the room use input unit 130 can display a pull-down menu on a display screen from which a room use can be selected, and accept a selection input of which room use is selected from the pull-down menu. Furthermore, when a room use is input from the data assignment unit 110 as one of the calculation conditions, the room use input unit 130 may obtain the room use input by the data assignment unit 110.

[0024] The evaluation rule selection unit 140 reads out from the storage unit the acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria that correspond to the input room use. The evaluation rule selection unit 140 also changes at least one of the read evaluation items and evaluation criteria in response to an externally input instruction to change. The evaluation rule selection unit 140 outputs the acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria to the acoustic simulation device 20.

[0025] The control unit 150 controls each unit of the device. The output unit 160 outputs the determination result to the outside. For example, the output unit 160 displays the determination result on a display device provided outside the interface device 10, or displays the determination result on a liquid crystal display panel provided in the interface device 10.

[0026] In this embodiment, the interface device 10 will be described as being configured as devices different from the acoustic simulation device 20 and the determination device 30, but at least a part of the functions of the interface device 10 may be provided in the acoustic simulation device 20 or the determination device 30. Also, at least a part of the functions of the interface device 10 may be incorporated as a plug-in tool (software that realizes the extended functions of the acoustic simulation device 20) of the acoustic simulation device 20 or the determination device 30.

[0027] The acoustic simulation device 20 performs a simulation of the acoustics in a room. This room acoustic simulation is performed, for example, by geometric acoustic calculation based on a geometric acoustic method. The geometric acoustic calculation may be performed using a calculation function of a plug-in tool that realizes the function of the interface device 10, or an external program written using a computer language such as Python may be called and executed from the plug-in tool.

[0028] The acoustic simulation device 20 performs an acoustic simulation. For this acoustic simulation, an existing acoustic simulation system or software may be used. For example, Patent Document 1 provides a simulation program for performing an acoustic simulation, which uses a "sound ray method" and a "virtual image method" to study the outline of a room shape using the "sound ray method" and calculates various evaluation indexes and impulse responses using the "virtual image method." In this embodiment, the simulation unit 210 uses a simulation program that calculates various evaluation indexes and impulse responses using only the "sound ray method." Here, the room shape is created using 3D CAD software.

[0029] The judgment device 30 judges, from among the calculation results (acoustic data) obtained by acoustic simulation performed by the acoustic simulation device 20, those calculation results that correspond to the acoustic evaluation items read out by the evaluation rule selection unit 140, using the evaluation criteria defined for the acoustic evaluation items, and obtains the judgment result. In addition, the judgment device 30 obtains, as a judgment result, either a judgment result corresponding to whether or not the evaluation criteria defined in the acoustic evaluation item are satisfied (e.g., "suitable" or "unsuitable"), or a judgment result indicating that consideration is required (e.g., "requires consideration"). The judgment device 30 judges the range (range indicated by the evaluation criteria) into which the calculation results of the acoustic simulation fall according to the "evaluation criteria" defined for the acoustic evaluation items, and can make a judgment of ○ (suitable), △ (requires consideration), or × (unsuitable). In other words, the designer himself does not have to consider the acoustics of the space to be evaluated based on the calculation results of the acoustic simulation.

[0030] Here, the calculation and judgment process of the room acoustic evaluation index (acoustic evaluation item) executed by the acoustic simulation device 20 may be performed using a calculation function of a plug-in tool of the 3D CAD software, or an external program written in a computer language such as Python may be called and executed from the plug-in tool.

[0031] Furthermore, when the above-mentioned external programs are incorporated to realize the respective functions of the interface device 10, the acoustic simulation device 20, and the determination device 30, they may be executed in conjunction with the operation of a plug-in tool of the 3D CAD software, rather than being directly operated by an operator (e.g., a designer), and the calculation results may be displayed on the 3D CAD software and its plug-in tool. In this case, the operator (e.g., a designer) does not need to be aware of the execution of the external programs.

[0032] Next, a description will be given of the operation of the above-mentioned room acoustics evaluation system 1. Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the room acoustics evaluation system 1. A designer inputs a room shape model representing a room shape and calculation conditions via an input device connected to the outside of the interface device 10. For example, the room shape model can be generated by creating a three-dimensional shape of a building using 3D CAD software. The calculation conditions are input using a plug-in tool of the 3D CAD software. The data assignment unit 110 of the interface device 10 acquires a room shape model based on the operation contents operated on the input device (step S101), and also acquires calculation conditions (steps S102, S103, and S104). The data input as the calculation conditions include the type of finishing material (step S102), the sound source and sound receiving positions (step S103), and various other calculation conditions (step S104). The "type of finishing material" refers to the materials used as interior decoration for the walls, ceiling, floor, etc. of a room. Different types of finishing materials have different acoustic characteristics (sound absorption characteristics, etc.) within the space. "Sound source and sound receiving positions" refer to the position inside the room where the sound is generated (sound source position) and the position where the sound is received in the audience seats, etc. The sound receiving positions can be arranged individually or automatically by specifying the area. The "other various calculation conditions" may include any data used in performing an acoustic simulation, such as a setting condition related to the accuracy of the simulation. If the accuracy of the simulation is set low, the calculation time will be short, and if the accuracy of the simulation is set high, the calculation time will be long. The accuracy of the simulation may be set arbitrarily by the designer (operator). Upon acquiring the room shape model and the calculation conditions, the data assignment unit 110 outputs the acquired room shape model and the calculation conditions to the acoustic simulation device 20.

[0033] The room purpose input unit 130 acquires the room purpose input by the designer via the input device (step S105). When the room use is acquired, the evaluation rule selection unit 140 reads out from the storage unit 120 the acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria corresponding to the room use acquired by the room use input unit 130 (step S106). For example, when the acquired room use is a "concert hall," the evaluation rule selection unit 140 reads out from the memory unit 120, as acoustic evaluation items, "average sound absorption coefficient," "music clarity," "echo interference," and "sound pressure distribution," and also reads out, as evaluation criteria corresponding to "average sound absorption coefficient," "suitable: a1-a2, needs consideration: a3-a4, unsuitable: a5-a6," "suitable: b1-b2, needs consideration: b3-b4, unsuitable: b5-b6," "suitable: c1-c2, needs consideration: c3-c4, unsuitable: c5-c6," and "suitable: d1-d2, needs consideration: d3-d4, unsuitable: d5-d6," as evaluation criteria corresponding to "sound pressure distribution." When the evaluation rule selection unit 140 reads out the acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria, it sets (temporarily stores) the read acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria as conditions to be used for evaluation (steps S107 and S108), and displays the set contents on a display device connected to the interface device 10.

[0034] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen. On the display screen, for example, room use (reference number 401), acoustic evaluation items (reference number 402), and evaluation criteria (reference number 403) are displayed based on the settings. Based on the contents displayed on this display screen, the designer can check the currently set contents of the room use, and the acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria applied to this room use. Here, the evaluation rule selection unit 140 reads out the acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria, and the "acoustic evaluation items" and "evaluation criteria" are automatically set according to the "room use" set by the operator as described above, but the operator can also input these setting values ​​as desired. The designer checks the contents displayed on the display screen, and if there are any acoustic evaluation items or evaluation criteria that he or she wishes to change, he or she can change the setting contents of at least one of the acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria by inputting them via the input device. When an instruction to change the acoustic evaluation items or evaluation criteria is input from the designer, the evaluation rule selection unit 140 changes the acoustic evaluation items or evaluation criteria in accordance with the instruction. For example, when an instruction to change the acoustic evaluation items is input from the designer, the evaluation rule selection unit 140 changes the acoustic evaluation items in accordance with the instruction. The change in the acoustic evaluation items may be, for example, at least one of adding an acoustic evaluation item, replacing the acoustic evaluation items, and deleting one of the acoustic evaluation items. Furthermore, when an instruction to change the evaluation criteria is input from the designer, the evaluation rule selection unit 140 changes the evaluation criteria in response to the instruction. The change in the evaluation criteria may be, for example, at least one of the range of the reference value corresponding to "suitable" and the range of the reference value corresponding to "needs consideration" and the range of the reference value corresponding to "unsuitable". Designers can change the acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria to evaluate the acoustics under any conditions as required.

[0035] The designer also inputs an instruction to specify the display method of the evaluation results via the input device. The control unit 150 acquires the instruction to specify the display method of the evaluation results input by the designer via the input device (step S109). This "display method of the evaluation results" is a setting content for specifying the items and display mode of the simulation results to be displayed in the 3D CAD and its plug-in tool. Here, after all conditions such as the room shape model, room use, acoustic evaluation items, evaluation criteria, and various other calculation conditions have been set, a series of functions may be executed, such as outputting the set conditions and executing the simulation, evaluating it, and making a judgment, by clicking, for example, an "execute button."

[0036] When the acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria are output from the control unit 150, the acoustic simulation device 20 acquires the acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria, and also acquires the room shape model and calculation conditions output from the data assignment unit 110. The simulation unit 210 executes an acoustic simulation based on the room shape model and the calculation conditions (step S201). When the acoustic simulation device 20 performs an acoustic simulation, the determination device 30 obtains a plurality of acoustic evaluation items and evaluation values ​​for the acoustic evaluation items as calculation results of the acoustic simulation (step S202). Here, if the calculation results of the acoustic simulation do not include the plurality of acoustic evaluation items and the evaluation values ​​for the acoustic evaluation items themselves, the simulation unit 210 may calculate the evaluation values ​​corresponding to the acoustic evaluation items from the results of the acoustic simulation.

[0037] When the determination device 30 obtains the calculation result of the acoustic simulation, the determination device 30 evaluates the calculation result of the acoustic simulation using the acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria obtained from the evaluation rule selection unit 140 (step S203). For example, the judgment device 30 identifies the evaluation value of the acoustic evaluation item obtained from the evaluation rule selection unit 140 among multiple acoustic evaluation items obtained as a calculation result of the acoustic simulation and the evaluation values ​​for those acoustic evaluation items, and determines to which range of evaluation criteria corresponding to the acoustic evaluation item obtained from the evaluation rule selection unit 140 this identified evaluation value belongs, thereby obtaining a judgment result of whether the evaluation value is "suitable," "requires consideration," or "unsuitable." For example, if the "room use" is set as "concert hall," then "average sound absorption coefficient," "music clarity," "echo interference," and "sound pressure distribution" are used as acoustic evaluation items, and "evaluation criteria" corresponding to each of these "acoustic evaluation items" are assigned as evaluation criteria to be used when making the evaluation. For example, "average sound absorption coefficient" is assigned "suitable: a1-a2, needs consideration: a3-a4, unsuitable: a5-a6," and "music clarity" is assigned "suitable: b1-b2, needs consideration: b3-b4, unsuitable: b5-b6."

[0038] For example, when the evaluation value of "average sound absorption coefficient" falls between "a1 and a2", the determination device 30 determines that the evaluation result is "suitable", and when the evaluation value of "average sound absorption coefficient" falls between "a3 and a4", the determination device 30 determines that the evaluation result is "requires consideration". The determination device 30 performs such a determination for each of the acoustic evaluation items obtained from the control unit 150. Here, the acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria according to the room use input by the designer are read by the evaluation rule selection unit 140, and the acoustic simulation calculation results are evaluated using these acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria. Therefore, the designer does not need to determine and input how to set the acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria corresponding to the room use. In addition, the designer does not need to evaluate the acoustic simulation calculation results by himself.

[0039] When the determination device 30 obtains a determination result for each of the acoustic evaluation items to be evaluated, it outputs the calculation result of the acoustic simulation and the obtained determination result to the interface device 10. Note that the calculation result of the acoustic simulation may be output from the acoustic simulation device 20 to the interface device 10, instead of being output from the determination device 30 to the interface device 10.

[0040] When the control unit 150 of the interface device 10 acquires the calculation results of the acoustic simulation and the judgment results judged by the judgment device 30, it causes the output unit 160 to output the acquired calculation results of the acoustic simulation and the judgment results. The output unit 160 of the interface device 10 displays the calculation results of the acoustic simulation obtained from the acoustic simulation device 20 on the display screen of the display device (step S301), and also displays the judgment results, which are judged based on the acoustic evaluation items for the calculation results obtained from the acoustic simulation device 20, as evaluation results on the display screen of the display device (step S302).

[0041] For example, when the evaluation result for "average sound absorption coefficient" is "satisfactory", the output unit 160 displays on the display screen that the "average sound absorption coefficient" is "satisfactory". Similarly, for other acoustic evaluation items, the output unit 160 displays on the display screen whether the evaluation result is "satisfactory", "requires consideration", or "not suitable" for each acoustic evaluation item. Here, the output unit 160 can display the evaluation result "suitable" using a symbol such as "○". Similarly, when the evaluation result is "needs consideration", the output unit 160 can display it as "needs consideration", but can also display it using a symbol such as "△", and when the evaluation result is "unsuitable", the output unit 160 can display it as "unsuitable", but can also display it using a symbol such as "×". The display method to be used may be specified in "Setting the result display method" in step S109. The output unit 160 displays according to the display method specified in "Setting the result display method". This allows the designer to visually recognize the judgment result in a manner that is easy for the designer to understand.

[0042] According to the embodiment described above, even if a designer does not have specialized knowledge of acoustics, the designer can create a calculation model, set calculation conditions, and execute an acoustic simulation within the scope of the designer's design knowledge and technology. Then, when the acoustic simulation results are obtained, the room acoustics evaluation system 1 evaluates and judges the calculation results of the acoustic simulation based on the acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria, and outputs the results. Therefore, the evaluation results can be obtained without the designer (operator) having to evaluate the calculation and simulation results himself. Therefore, the designer does not need specialized knowledge of acoustics to use the room acoustics evaluation system 1.

[0043] In addition, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the system presents the results of the simulation calculations by a three-dimensional display of sound field reproduction and sound ray paths, and the designer evaluates them by seeing and hearing them, which requires the designer to have knowledge and experience in acoustics. On the other hand, according to this embodiment, by setting the room use, multiple acoustic evaluation items obtained from the acoustic simulation results and acoustic evaluation items and evaluation criteria for judging whether the evaluation values ​​for the acoustic evaluation items are suitable for the room use are automatically set. Then, according to this embodiment, the evaluation results obtained by evaluating the acoustic simulation calculations are displayed in the form of "○", "△", "×" or "suitable", "requires consideration", "not suitable", etc. This enables the designer to make a judgment based on the evaluation results even if he or she does not have specialized acoustic knowledge.

[0044] Furthermore, Patent Document 1 does not provide any description of the interface for inputting room shape and performing various settings and other operations, but in this embodiment, all operations can be performed using general-purpose 3D CAD software and its plug-in tools, making operation extremely easy for designers.

[0045] Furthermore, according to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to predict and evaluate room acoustics without outsourcing the evaluation or acoustic study to an architectural acoustics expert or specialist company, which lowers the hurdle for study and reduces the financial costs required for outsourcing. In addition, it is possible to reduce the time required for outsourcing, thereby saving time. Furthermore, if this room acoustics evaluation system 1 is used in the early stages of designing a room space, it is possible to identify acoustic issues that need to be considered at an early stage, and by considering countermeasures from an early stage, it becomes possible to create a design that is highly cost-effective. In addition, it is possible to carry out numerous pattern studies from the early design stages through to detailed consideration, enabling highly refined acoustic designs.

[0046] The functions of the data providing unit 110, the storage unit 120, the room use input unit 130, the evaluation rule selection unit 140, the control unit 150, the output unit 160, the determination unit 220, the acoustic simulation device 20, and the determination device 30 in the above-mentioned embodiment may be realized by a computer. In that case, a program for realizing this function may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded in the recording medium may be read into a computer system and executed to realize the functions. Note that the "computer system" here includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. Furthermore, the "computer-readable recording medium" refers to a portable medium such as a flexible disk, an optical magnetic disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM, and a storage device such as a hard disk built into a computer system. Furthermore, the "computer-readable recording medium" may also include a medium that dynamically holds a program for a short period of time, such as a communication line when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line, and a medium that holds a program for a certain period of time, such as a volatile memory inside a computer system that is a server or client in that case. Furthermore, the above program may be for realizing part of the functions described above, or may be capable of realizing the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system, or may be realized using a programmable logic device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0047] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and designs that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention are also included. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 1... room acoustic evaluation system, 10... interface device, 20... acoustic simulation device, 30... determination device, 110... data assignment section, 120... storage section, 130... room use input section, 140... evaluation rule selection section, 150... control section, 160... output section, 210... simulation section, 220... determination section

Claims

1. a storage unit that stores different combinations of acoustic evaluation items, which are items for evaluating acoustics, and evaluation criteria for the acoustic evaluation items, according to the room use of the space for which acoustics is to be evaluated; an acquisition unit that acquires acoustic data that is a calculation result of an acoustic simulation performed on a space to be evaluated; An input unit that receives an input of a room use that specifies the room use; an evaluation rule selection unit that reads out from the storage unit the acoustic evaluation items and the evaluation criteria corresponding to the input room use; a determination unit that determines, from among the calculation results included in the acoustic data, the calculation results corresponding to the acoustic evaluation items read out by the evaluation rule selection unit, using evaluation criteria associated with the acoustic evaluation items, and obtains the determination result; A room acoustic evaluation system having:

2. The acoustic evaluation items stored in the storage unit include at least one of average sound absorption coefficient, music clarity, speech clarity, echo interference, and sound pressure distribution.

2. A room acoustic evaluation system according to claim 1.

3. The determination unit obtains, as a determination result, either a determination result corresponding to whether or not the evaluation criterion defined in the acoustic evaluation item is satisfied, or a determination result indicating that consideration is required.

3. The room acoustic evaluation system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A data providing unit that receives input of a room shape model representing a room shape and calculation conditions and outputs the data to the acoustic simulation.

3. The room acoustic evaluation system according to claim 1, further comprising:

5. a modeling unit that generates a room shape model, which is a three-dimensional model that represents the shape of a room for which acoustics are to be evaluated; The data providing unit receives the room shape model generated by the modeling unit.

5. A room acoustic evaluation system according to claim 4.

6. an acoustic simulation unit that performs the acoustic simulation; The acquisition unit acquires a calculation result of the acoustic simulation performed by the acoustic simulation unit. The room acoustic evaluation system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. an output unit that outputs the result of the acoustic simulation and the determination result of the determination unit; 7. The room acoustic evaluation system according to claim 1, further comprising:

8. An acoustic evaluation method implemented by a room acoustic evaluation system, comprising: an acquisition unit of the room acoustic evaluation system acquires acoustic data which is a calculation result of an acoustic simulation performed on the space to be evaluated; an input unit of the room acoustics evaluation system receives an input of a room use that specifies a room use of a space for which acoustics are to be evaluated; an evaluation rule selection unit of the room acoustic evaluation system refers to a storage unit that stores different combinations of acoustic evaluation items, which are items for evaluating acoustics, and evaluation criteria for the acoustic evaluation items, depending on room uses, and reads out the acoustic evaluation items and the evaluation criteria from the storage unit depending on the input room use; A determination unit of the room acoustic evaluation system determines the calculation results included in the acoustic data, which correspond to the acoustic evaluation items read out by the evaluation rule selection unit, using evaluation criteria associated with the acoustic evaluation items, and obtains the determination result. Acoustic evaluation methods.

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