Conference systems, speaker equipment.

Abstract

To provide a conference system in which a speaker and a microphone are arranged on a table used for a conference.SOLUTION: The invention is configured so that, a microphone 21 is embedded in a top face of a top plate 61 of a table 6, a metal plate 314 is installed on a lower face of the top plate 61, and on a lower face of the metal plate 314, a first speaker unit 31 and a second speaker unit 32 are installed. The first speaker unit 31 is fitted to the metal plate 314 by magnets 315(a,b), and the first speaker unit 31 and the second speaker unit 32 are configured to release sound to a direction other than the top face of the top plate 61.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a conference system including a sound emitting device. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there have been tables used in meetings and the like that have a vibrator on the top plate to vibrate the top plate itself to emit sound (for example, Patent Document 1). Furthermore, the top plate is also equipped with a microphone, which allows conferences to be held even if the interlocutors are in distant locations.

[0003] Incidentally, in recent years, as a measure to prevent infection with influenza and unknown viruses, when multiple speakers gather for a meeting, partitions or other dividers are sometimes installed on the tables to prevent droplet infection. [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2007-167304 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the above-mentioned configuration, it was necessary to prepare a cushioning material around the microphone to prevent interference caused by vibrations from the vibrator attached to the table top. Furthermore, when the microphone picks up the sound emitted from the table top, there is a possibility that howling may occur, so a device to suppress howling was required.

[0005] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned configuration, the table top vibrates, so it is not possible to place equipment such as a personal computer or other objects on the top.

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention eliminates the need to prepare cushioning material around the microphone to prevent interference caused by vibrations from a vibrator attached to the table top, or to prepare a howling suppression device to prevent howling when the microphone picks up sound emitted from the table top, and also aims to make it possible to install a partition or other dividing plate on the table top to prevent droplet infection from occurring, or to prevent droplet infection from occurring. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] One aspect of the present invention provides a conference system comprising a table, a sound collection device, and a sound emission device, wherein the table comprises a top plate and a support part for supporting the top plate, the top plate is provided with the sound collection device on its upper surface and the sound emission device on its lower surface, and the sound emission device is configured to emit sound from surfaces other than the top plate.

[0008] In one example of the conference system according to the embodiment of the present invention, the sound emitting device may be composed of at least two speaker units, a first speaker unit and a second speaker unit, the first speaker unit being provided to emit sound in a direction facing the tabletop, and the second speaker unit being configured to emit sound in a direction other than the upper surface that is different from the sound emitting direction of the first speaker unit. In another example of the sound emitting device, a sound signal other than a high frequency band may be input to the first speaker unit, and a high frequency sound signal may be input to the second speaker unit. In another example of the sound collecting device, the sound collecting device may be composed of two or more microphones. In another example, the sound collecting device may be configured to be embedded in the tabletop.

[0009] A speaker device provided from one aspect of the present invention is a speaker device comprising a diaphragm, an exciter, and a speaker unit, characterized in that the exciter is attached to the surface of the diaphragm facing the sound emission direction, causing the diaphragm to vibrate and emit sound, and the speaker unit is configured to emit sound in a direction other than the top surface which is different from the sound emission direction of the diaphragm equipped with the exciter.

[0010] In one example of the speaker device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the exciter may be configured to receive an acoustic signal other than a high-frequency signal, and the speaker unit may be configured to receive an acoustic signal in a high-frequency range. Effect of the Invention

[0011] The present invention eliminates the need to prepare cushioning material around the microphone to prevent interference caused by vibrations from a vibrator attached to the top of a table used in meetings, for example, or to prepare a howling suppression device to prevent howling when the microphone picks up sound emitted from the top; and it also makes it possible to install a partition or other dividing plate on the table top to prevent droplet infection. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a simplified diagram showing transmission and reception of audio signals when a conference is held with a remote location in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a front view of the first speaker unit 31 in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the first speaker unit 31 taken along line AA in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example in which the partition plate 4 is installed above the top plate 11 in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example in which the partition plate 4 is installed above the top plate 11 in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state during a conference in the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state during a conference in the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS EXAMPLES

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a conference system 1 according to the present invention. The conference system 1 is equipped with a table 6, a sound collection device 2, and a sound emission device 3. The conference system 1 is installed, for example, when a one-to-one conversation is to be held with a remote location or when multiple people are to talk with each other. The conference system 1 is also used when multiple people gather together to hold a conference in one space, rather than a conference with a remote location.

[0014] The table 6 is made up of a top plate 61 and a support portion 62. It may be a folding table that can be easily set up or a table that is attached to a wall, as long as it is a table that can be used for a meeting, etc. Also, it is not limited to these, and may be anything that can be used as a table.

[0015] The sound collection device 2 is installed on the top surface of the tabletop 61. For example, when a conference is held in remote locations, if there are multiple speakers at each remote location, one sound collection device 2 may be provided for each speaker, or only one may be provided even if there are multiple speakers. The sound collection device 2 may also be a microphone, and may be a microphone provided in a personal computer as long as it is capable of collecting sounds such as the voice of the speaker. The sound collection device 2 may be embedded in the table 6.

[0016] The sound emitting device 3 is installed on the underside of the tabletop 61. As a result, the direction in which sound is emitted from the sound emitting device 3 is a direction other than the upper surface. For example, sound is emitted in a lower surface direction (D1) opposite to the upper surface direction of the tabletop 61. Furthermore, when a conference is held in a remote location, for example, only one sound emitting device 3 may be provided on the table, or multiple sound emitting devices 3 may be provided. Furthermore, the sound emitting device 3 may be multiple speaker units or the like, as long as it can emit an input sound signal. Furthermore, the sound emitting device 3 may be embedded in the tabletop 61.

[0017] The speaker unit is, for example, a device that outputs sound by translational motion of a diaphragm, and includes a diaphragm, a magnetic circuit, and a voice coil (not shown), and the magnetic circuit and the voice coil move relative to each other based on an external audio signal to vibrate the diaphragm. At this time, the diaphragm may be a well-known one that generates sound by translating back and forth as a rigid body. EXAMPLES

[0018] 2 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration according to the present invention. In this example, a plurality of sound collection devices 2(a, b) are shown embedded in a top plate 61. Also shown is a plurality of sound emission devices 3(a, b, c), with a first speaker unit 31 installed under the top plate 61 and a second speaker unit 32 installed perpendicular to the sound emission direction of the first speaker unit 31.

[0019] Although a state in which a plurality of sound collecting devices 2(a, b) are embedded in the top plate 61 is shown, only one sound collecting device 2(a, b) may be embedded.

[0020] The first speaker unit 31 and the second speaker unit 32 are provided on the underside of the top plate 61, and each emits sound toward a direction other than the upper surface of the top plate 61. In this way, the sound emission direction may be any direction other than the upper surface.

[0021] The first speaker unit 31 is provided on the underside of the tabletop 61 and is installed so as to emit sound in the direction (D1) of the underside opposite to the upper surface of the tabletop 61, but the sound emission direction may be any direction other than the upper surface of the tabletop 61. Also, an acoustic signal other than a high frequency band may be sent to the first speaker unit 31, for example, an acoustic signal only in a low frequency band may be sent. Also, there may be multiple first speaker units 31.

[0022] The second speaker unit 32 is installed so as to emit sound in a direction (D2) perpendicular to the sound emission direction of the first speaker unit 32 provided on the underside of the tabletop 61, but the sound emission direction may be any direction other than the upper surface of the tabletop 61. In addition, sound may be emitted in the same direction as the first speaker unit, or may be emitted toward the speaker. In addition, a high-frequency acoustic signal may be sent to the second speaker unit. For example, the second speaker unit may be a tweeter. In addition, there may be a plurality of second speaker units 32.

[0023] 3 is a simplified diagram of transmission and reception of acoustic signals when a conference is held with remote locations in an embodiment of the present invention. For example, when a conference is held with remote locations, audio picked up by an audio pickup device 2 present in each remote location space 10(a, b) is transmitted to and received from the respective remote location spaces 10(a, b) via a transmission / reception device 7 and a communication network 8, and the audio is emitted by an audio emission device 3 present in each space, thereby enabling a conference with the remote locations to be held.

[0024] The sound collection device 2 is one or more sound collection devices provided in each of the remote spaces 10(a, b), and collects sounds in each of the remote spaces 10(a, b).

[0025] The transmitting / receiving device 7 transmits the sounds collected in each of the remote spaces 10 (a, b) to the conversion unit 71 through the transmission path 9. The transmitting / receiving device 7 may be provided in the first speaker unit 31 or in each of the spaces 10.

[0026] The conversion unit 71 converts analog voice of a speaker or the like into digital using, for example, an A / D converter that converts analog to digital, and then transmits the digitally converted acoustic signal of the speaker or the like to the transmission unit 72.

[0027] The transmission path 9 may be wired or wireless.

[0028] The transmitting unit 72 transmits the signal from the transmission line 9 via the communication network 8 to the transmitting / receiving devices 7(a, b) in the respective remote spaces 10(a, b).

[0029] The communication network 8 may be a LAN, a WAN, the Internet, or the like.

[0030] The transmitting / receiving device 7 transmits the acoustic signal received by the receiving unit 73 from the communication network 8 via the transmission path 9 to the converting unit 71 .

[0031] The conversion unit 71 converts the received acoustic signal from digital to analog using an A / D converter or the like, and transmits the converted signal to the sound emitting device 3 via the transmission path 9 .

[0032] The sound emitting device 3 emits the received acoustic signal.

[0033] Although not shown in the figure, when multiple people gather to hold a conference in one space 10 rather than at remote locations, a table 6 may be provided for each speaker 5, and the sound picked up by the sound collection device 2 provided on each table may be processed by the transmitter / receiver 7 via a transmission path 9, and the sound may be emitted from the transmitter / receiver 7 via the transmission path 9 from a sound emission device 3 provided in one space 10 without going through a communication network 8. EXAMPLES

[0034] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration according to the present invention. In this example, microphone 21 is embedded in the upper surface of table top 61 of table 6, metal plate 314 is placed on the lower surface of table top 61, and first speaker unit 31 and second speaker unit 32 are placed on the lower surface of metal plate 314, with first speaker unit 31 attached to metal plate 314 by magnets 315(a, b).

[0035] One microphone 21 is embedded in the top surface of the tabletop 61, but multiple microphones may be embedded. Alternatively, the microphone may not be embedded and may be installed on the top surface of the tabletop 61. Even if the microphone cannot be installed on the top surface, it is sufficient as long as it can pick up the speaker's voice.

[0036] Metal plate 314 is a metal plate attached to the underside of top plate 61. As a result, it is attached by magnets 315(a, b) provided on first speaker unit 31. In this way, first speaker unit 31 is fixed to top plate 61. Note that first speaker unit 31 and second speaker unit 32 may be fixed directly to top plate 61, in which case metal plate 314 may not be necessary.

[0037] The first speaker unit 31 is made up of an exciter 311 and a diaphragm 312, and is attached to a metal plate 314 placed on the underside of the top plate 61 with magnets 315 (a, b). The sound emission direction is a direction opposite to the top plate 61. For example, the direction toward the underside of the top plate 61 (D1). The sound emission direction does not have to be in the direction of the top plate 61. The metal plate 314 may be any that can be attached with magnets 315.

[0038] The exciter 311 is installed on a surface facing the sound output direction D1 of the diaphragm 312. The exciter 311 is supported only by the diaphragm 312, and when the exciter 311 vibrates, the diaphragm 312 also vibrates accordingly, and sound is output in the direction D1 facing the top plate. In other words, the first speaker unit 31 is a planar speaker.

[0039] In general, a flat speaker performs a bending motion. Such bending motion of the diaphragm 312 causes sound to be output from the diaphragm 312. Therefore, the exciter 312 is preferably disposed near the center of the diaphragm 312, but it does not have to be disposed near the center, and may be disposed at a position where sound can be emitted by vibrating the diaphragm 312.

[0040] Although not shown, diaphragm 312 is made of aluminum with urethane placed between the aluminum, and has a thickness of about 3 mm to 5 mm. This allows for the flexibility required for sound emission and weight reduction. Furthermore, diaphragm 312 is not limited to aluminum with urethane placed between the aluminum, and may be any material that can bend to an extent that sound can be emitted by the vibration of exciter 311. Furthermore, the thickness of diaphragm 312 is not limited to about 3 mm to 5 mm.

[0041] Magnets 315(a, b) are attached to frame 313 installed on the sides of diaphragm 312 of first speaker unit 31. This makes it possible to detach first speaker unit 31 from metal plate 314, so that the orientation of first speaker unit 31 can be freely changed.

[0042] The second speaker unit 32 is placed inside the diaphragm 312 of the first speaker unit 31 and the frame 313 placed on the side of the diaphragm 312. The second speaker unit 32 may be supported by a metal plate 314, may be supported by the frame 313, or may be supported by the diaphragm 312. The second speaker unit 32 may be placed outside the diaphragm 312 of the first speaker unit 31 and the frame 313 placed on the side of the diaphragm 312. The sound emission direction is the same as that explained in FIG. 2, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0043] The frame 313 is attached to each side of the surface facing the sound emission direction of the diaphragm 312 of the first speaker unit 31, and is made of a rectangular parallelepiped wooden material. The frame 313 is carved so that the magnets 315 (a, b) can be attached thereto. The frame 313 has a gap for emitting the sound of the second speaker unit 32, which is not shown in the figure. The gap for emitting the sound of the second speaker unit 32 may be sufficient as long as the sound can be emitted. The magnets 315 may be attached to the frames 313 one by one, or may be attached to the opposing frames 313 in a pair. In this way, the first speaker unit 31 is attached to the metal plate 314 installed on the lower surface of the top plate 61 using the magnets 315 (a, b). The frame 313 is not limited to being made of a wooden material. The frame 313 may be omitted, and in that case, the magnets 315 may be directly installed on the first speaker unit 31 and attached to the metal plate 314. Also, the frame 313 does not have to be attached to each side. For example, only a pair of frames may be attached to opposing sides of the diaphragm 312.

[0044] 5 and 6 are detailed views of the first speaker unit 31. FIG. 5 is a view seen from the sound emitting surface of the first speaker unit 31, and the second speaker unit 32, frame 313, and magnets 315 (a-d) are all contained within the size of the diaphragm 312 of the first speaker unit 31. This does not impair the aesthetic appearance. Note that the magnets 315 are not contained in the frames 313b and 313d. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the first speaker unit 31 shown in FIG. 5 taken along the AA cutting line, and magnets 315 (c, d) are contained in the frame 313c. EXAMPLES

[0045] 7 and 8 are a side view and a perspective view of the present embodiment with partition plates 4(a-d) installed. With the partition plates 4(a-d) installed on the top surface of the tabletop 61, microphones 21(a-d) are embedded in the top surface of the tabletop 61. The partition plates 4(a-d) are transparent acrylic plates, but are not limited to this and may be any material that can be easily installed and serves as a partition. This makes it possible to prevent droplet infection by separating speakers.

[0046] The microphones 21 (a-d) are embedded in the center of the tabletop 61, but they may be embedded in other places and may be four or more. This allows the microphones 21 to pick up sound even if the speaker is wearing a mask or the like, so that it is not difficult to hear even if the speaker is in a remote location or in a normal conference in which the speakers gather in one space. Details of the microphones 21 are omitted because they have been explained in Figures 1, 2, and 4.

[0047] On the underside of the top plate 61, the first speaker unit 31 is attached to a metal plate 314 by magnets 315(a, b) and magnets 315(c, d) (not shown). Note that the first speaker unit 31 has been described in FIG. 2 and will not be described here.

[0048] The second speaker units 32(a, b) are each installed on the underside of the tabletop 61. The sound emission direction of the second speaker units 32(a, b) is installed in a direction perpendicular to the sound emission direction of the first speaker unit 31 provided on the underside of the tabletop 61, and they are installed so as to emit sound toward the outside (D2, D3) of the tabletop 61. Note that the installation method and details of the second speaker units 32 are omitted since they have been explained in Figs. 4 to 6. EXAMPLES

[0049] 9 and 10 are diagrams showing a conference in progress in this embodiment. Fig. 9 shows speakers 5 (a to d) holding a conference in a state where microphones 21 (a, b) are embedded in the upper surface of tabletop 61 and first speaker units 31 (a, b) and second speaker units (a to d) are installed on the lower surface.

[0050] The microphones 21(a, b) are embedded between the first speaker unit 31a and the first speaker unit 31b, but may be embedded somewhere other than between them. With this configuration, the microphone 21a picks up the voices of the speakers 5a and 5c, and the microphone 21b picks up the voices of the speakers 5b and 5d. The details of the microphone 21 are described in Figures 1, 2, and 4, so a detailed description will be omitted.

[0051] There are two first speaker units 31(a, b), but only one may be provided, and a second speaker unit 32 may be provided on each side of the diaphragm 312. The first speaker units 31(a, b) are the same as the speaker units described in Figs. 4 to 6, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted. Two second speaker units 32(a-d) are provided for each of the first speaker units 31(a, b). Furthermore, all of the second speaker units 32(a-d) emit sound toward the speakers (a-d). The second speaker units 32(a-d) are the same as the speaker units described in Fig. 2, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0052] FIG. 10 shows speakers 5 (a-f) holding a conference with a microphone 21 embedded in the upper surface of a tabletop 61 and a first speaker unit 31 (a, b) and a second speaker unit 32 (a-h) installed on the lower surface.

[0053] The microphone 21 is embedded between the first speaker unit 31a and the first speaker unit 31b, but may be embedded somewhere other than between them. This configuration also makes it possible to collect the voices of all the speakers 5 (a to f). Note that the details of the microphone 21 have been described in Figures 1, 2, and 4, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0054] As explained in Fig. 4, the first speaker units 31(a, b) are attached to a metal plate 314 (not shown) installed on the underside of the top board 61 by magnets 315 (not shown), so the orientation of the first speaker units 31(a, b) can be changed to any orientation as shown in the figure. Note that the same first speaker units 31a and 31b are used, and are the same as the speaker units explained in Figs. 4 to 6, so detailed explanations will be omitted.

[0055] The second speaker units 32(a-h) are provided on each side of the diaphragm 312(a,b) of the first speaker unit 31(a,b). The second speaker units 32(a-h) all emit sound toward the speakers 5(a-f). The second speaker units 32(a-h) have gaps in the frame 313 (not shown) to emit sound. The speakers 5c and 5d emit sound from the second speaker units 32e,c and 32d,f, but the second speaker units 32(a-h) may be adjusted by an acoustic adjustment device (not shown), and the output from the second speaker unit 32 may be adjusted. The second speaker units 32(a-d) are the same as the speaker units described in FIG. 2, so detailed description is omitted.

[0056] The present invention is not limited to the above configuration, and includes other conference systems and speaker devices within the scope of the present invention. For example, the first speaker unit 31 is substantially square, but may be substantially rectangular, circular, or polygonal, and the first speaker unit 31 may be a single housing. The second speaker unit 32 may be provided on the side of a table. The first speaker unit 31 and the second speaker unit 32 do not have to be provided on the underside of the table top, and may be installed on the side of furniture, the wall or ceiling of a room. They may also be installed on the floor. The sound emitted from the first speaker unit 31 and the second speaker unit 32 does not have to be a collected voice, and may be BGM (BackGround Music). [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 1. Conference System 2. Sound recording device 3 Sound emitting device 4 Partition 5 Speakers 6 Tables 7 Transmitting and receiving equipment 8. Communication Network 9 Transmission Line 10 Space 21 Microphone 31 1st speaker unit 32 2nd speaker unit 61 Tabletop 62 Support part 71 Conversion unit 72 Transmitter 73 Receiving section 311 Exciter 312 Diaphragm 313 Frame 314 Metal plate 315 Magnet

Claims

1. In a conference system comprising a table, a sound pickup device, and a sound emission device, The table includes: The top plate and A support portion supports the top plate, The top plate is The sound collecting device is provided on the upper surface, The sound emitting device is provided on the underside, The sound emitting device is The speaker system includes at least two speaker units, a first speaker unit and a second speaker unit, The first speaker unit is provided to emit sound in a direction facing the top plate, A conference system, characterized in that the second speaker unit is configured to emit sound in a direction other than the upper surface, which is different from the sound emission direction of the first speaker unit.

2. 2. The conference system according to claim 1, wherein the first speaker unit comprises a diaphragm and an exciter.

3. The first speaker unit receives an acoustic signal other than a high-frequency signal, 3. The conference system according to claim 1, wherein the second speaker unit receives a high-frequency acoustic signal.

4. 4. The conference system according to claim 1, wherein the sound pickup device comprises two or more microphones.

5. The sound collecting device is The conference system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the device is embedded in the tabletop.

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