Conference Sound System

Abstract

To provide a conference-oriented sound system configured to improve user experience in music reproduction.SOLUTION: A conference-oriented sound system includes a loudspeaker unit 10 and a microphone. The loudspeaker unit 10 includes: a storage section 11 that stores a conference-oriented frequency characteristic and a music-oriented frequency characteristic; a setting section 12 which sets the conference-oriented frequency characteristic as a characteristic which is to be used during a conference and sets the music-oriented frequency characteristic as a characteristic which is to be used during music reproduction; and a signal adjustment section 13 which adjusts input sound data with the characteristic which is to be used. When receiving a signal which is used for notification of start of the conference, the setting section 12 sets the conference-oriented frequency characteristic as the characteristic which is to be used.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to conference audio systems. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, opportunities for teleworking have increased, and as a result, web conferences have become more frequent, leading to the proposal of various technologies relating to web conferences (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Known audio systems used in web conferences (hereinafter referred to as "conference audio systems") include, for example, so-called speakerphone audio systems in which a speaker unit and a microphone are integrated, and audio systems in which a speaker unit and a microphone are connected wirelessly or via a wire. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-137095 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In such conference audio systems, a frequency characteristic with muted output is used to prevent the signal generated by the speaker unit from being fed back to the other party via the microphone. In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for conference audio systems such as those described above to also be used for music playback. However, when conventional conference audio systems are used for music playback, it is difficult to reproduce realistic sound, and there has been a demand for an improved user experience.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide a conference audio system that can improve the user experience in music playback. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present disclosure is a conference audio system including a speaker unit and a microphone, the speaker unit including a memory unit in which conference frequency characteristics and music frequency characteristics are stored, a setting unit that sets the conference frequency characteristics as usage characteristics during a conference and sets the music frequency characteristics as usage characteristics during music playback, and a signal adjustment unit that adjusts input sound data using the usage characteristics, and the setting unit sets the conference frequency characteristics as the usage characteristics when a signal used to notify the start of a conference is received. The microphone is provided with a lighting unit that lights up in different modes depending on a status, and the signal used to notify the start of the conference includes a command for requesting lighting of the lighting unit of the microphone. This is a conference sound system. One aspect of the present disclosure is a conference audio system comprising a speaker unit and a microphone, wherein the speaker unit is equipped with a memory unit in which conference frequency characteristics and music frequency characteristics are stored, a setting unit that sets the conference frequency characteristics as usage characteristics during a conference and sets the music frequency characteristics as usage characteristics while music is being played, and a signal adjustment unit that adjusts input sound data using the usage characteristics, wherein the setting unit sets the conference frequency characteristics as the usage characteristics when a signal used to notify the start of a conference is received, and sets the music frequency characteristics as the usage characteristics when a signal used to notify the end of the conference is received. One aspect of the present disclosure is a conference audio system comprising a speaker unit and a microphone, wherein the speaker unit is equipped with a memory unit in which a conference frequency characteristic and a music frequency characteristic are stored, a setting unit which sets the conference frequency characteristic as a usage characteristic during a conference and sets the music frequency characteristic as a usage characteristic during music playback, and a signal adjustment unit which adjusts input sound data using the usage characteristic, wherein the setting unit sets the conference frequency characteristic as the usage characteristic when a signal used to notify the start of a conference is received, and in a predetermined frequency band, the output of the music frequency characteristic is set to a value greater than the output of the conference frequency characteristic.

[0007] The present disclosure As a reference example One aspect is a conference audio system comprising a speaker unit and a microphone, the speaker unit comprising a memory unit in which conference frequency characteristics and music frequency characteristics are stored, a setting unit which sets the conference frequency characteristics as the characteristics in use during a conference and sets the music frequency characteristics as the characteristics in use during music playback, and a signal adjustment unit which adjusts input sound data using the characteristics in use. Effect of the Invention

[0008] The conference audio system of the present disclosure has the effect of improving the user experience in music playback. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1]1 is a system configuration diagram illustrating a schematic overall configuration of a conference audio system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 2 is a functional configuration diagram showing an example of functions of a speaker unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a comparison of a conference frequency characteristic and a music frequency characteristic according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of a control method executed by a conference audio system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a conference audio system according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a schematic overall configuration of a conference audio system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the conference audio system 1 includes a speaker unit 10 and a microphone 30. The speaker unit 10 and the microphone 30 are connected by wire. For example, communication by USB (Universal Serial Bus) can be used. Also, they may be connected wirelessly by Bluetooth (registered trademark), WiFi, etc. In the present embodiment, the speaker unit 10 and the microphone 30 are separate from each other, but the present invention is not limited to this. The speaker unit 10 and the microphone 30 may be integrated and mounted in a single housing.

[0011] The conference audio system 1 is connected wirelessly or wired to an information processing device 50 so as to be capable of communicating with it. Examples of the information processing device 50 include a notebook PC, a desktop PC, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, etc. The information processing device 50 is a known device, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0012] The microphone 30 includes an LED (Light-Emitting Diode: illumination unit) 31 and a mute switching unit 32. The LED 31 is controlled by, for example, the speaker unit 10. The LED 31 lights up in different modes depending on the status. For example, when the microphone 30 is on (unmuted), the LED 31 lights up in green, and when muted, the LED 31 lights up in red. The LED 31 goes out when the conference ends or when the microphone 30 is powered off.

[0013] The mute switching unit 32 is an input unit for allowing the user to switch between mute and non-mute (unmute). For example, the mute switching unit 32 is provided as an input button, and switches between mute and non-mute every time the user presses it.

[0014] 2 is a functional configuration diagram showing an example of functions of the speaker unit 10. For example, the speaker unit 10 has a computer equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit: processor), a main memory, a secondary storage, etc. A series of processes for realizing various functions described below are stored in the secondary storage, etc., in the form of a program, for example, and the CPU reads out this program into the main storage and executes information processing and arithmetic processing to realize various functions.

[0015] 2, the speaker unit 10 includes a storage unit 11, a setting unit 12, a signal adjustment unit 13, an amplifier 14, and a speaker 15. The speaker unit 10 may further include functions that are generally included in a speaker, such as a volume adjustment function for adjusting the volume.

[0016] The memory unit 11 stores, for example, a conference frequency characteristic suitable for a conference such as a web conference, and a music frequency characteristic suitable for playing music. The conference frequency characteristic is a frequency characteristic suitable for a web conference, and is, for example, a frequency characteristic with a suppressed output so that a signal generated by the speaker 15 is not fed back to the other party in the conference via the microphone 30. The music frequency characteristic is a frequency characteristic suitable for playing music.

[0017] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a comparison between the conference frequency characteristics and the music frequency characteristics. In Fig. 3, the horizontal axis is frequency (Hz) and the vertical axis is output (dB). As shown in Fig. 3, in a predetermined frequency band A, the output of the music frequency characteristics is set to a value greater than the output of the conference equalizer.

[0018] For example, the setting unit 12 sets the conference frequency characteristics as the usage characteristics during a conference, and sets the music frequency characteristics as the usage characteristics during music playback. For example, the setting unit 12 sets the conference frequency characteristics as the usage characteristics during a conference, and sets the music frequency characteristics as the usage characteristics outside the conference. The setting unit 12 sets the conference frequency characteristics as the characteristics to be used, for example, when receiving a signal used to notify the start of a conference from the information processing device 50 (hereinafter referred to as a "conference start command"). The conference start command is, for example, a command requesting that the LED 31 of the microphone 30 be turned on in green. This signal is output from the information processing device 50 to the speaker unit 10 using, for example, the HID protocol.

[0019] Furthermore, when the setting unit 12 receives, for example, a signal used to notify the end of a conference from the information processing device 50 (hereinafter referred to as a "conference end command"), it sets the music frequency characteristics as the characteristics to be used. The conference end command is, for example, a command requesting that the LED 31 of the microphone 30 be turned off. This signal is output from the information processing device 50 to the speaker unit 10 using, for example, the HID protocol.

[0020] The signal adjustment unit 13 adjusts the input sound data using the usage characteristics set by the setting unit 12. That is, the signal adjustment unit 13 has an equalizer function that adjusts the sound data using the usage characteristics. The amplifier 14 outputs the sound data adjusted by the signal adjustment unit 13 to the speaker 15. As a result, the speaker 15 outputs sound.

[0021] Next, the operation of the conference audio system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of a control method executed by the conference audio system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the following description, a case will be described in which the music frequency characteristic is set as the usage characteristic as the default setting.

[0022] First, when the information processing device 50 and the conference audio system 1 are connected and a web conference application (hereinafter referred to as the "conference application") is launched on the information processing device 50 (SA1), a conference start command is sent from the information processing device 50 to the speaker unit 10 of the conference audio system 1 (SA2).

[0023] When the speaker unit 10 receives the conference start command (SA3), it turns on the LED 31 of the microphone 30 in green in accordance with the command (SA4). The speaker unit 10 also sets the conference frequency characteristic as the usage characteristic (SA5). As a result, during a web conference, sound data received from the information processing device 50 is adjusted (signal processed) in the signal adjustment unit 13 based on the conference frequency characteristics, amplified by the amplifier 14, and output as sound from the speaker 15.

[0024] Next, when the web conference ends, the conference application of the information processing device 50 transmits a conference end command to the speaker unit 10 (SA6). Upon receiving the conference end command (SA7), the speaker unit 10 turns off the LED 31 of the microphone 30 in accordance with the command (SA8). The speaker unit 10 also sets the frequency characteristics for music as the characteristics to be used (SA9). As a result, in speaker unit 10, adjustment of the sound data using the music frequency characteristics is performed until the next conference start command is received. As a result, for example, when a music playback command is received and music sound data is input, the sound data is adjusted using the music frequency characteristics in signal adjustment section 13, and the adjusted sound data is amplified by amplifier 14 and output as sound from speaker 15.

[0025] As described above, according to this embodiment, conference audio system 1 includes speaker unit 10 and microphone 30. Speaker unit 10 also includes memory unit 11 in which conference frequency characteristics and music frequency characteristics are stored, setting unit 12 which sets the conference frequency characteristics as the characteristics in use during a conference and sets the music frequency characteristics as the characteristics in use during music playback, and signal adjustment unit 13 which adjusts input sound data using the characteristics in use.

[0026] This makes it possible to switch to an appropriate frequency characteristic depending on the purpose of the conference audio system 1. That is, during a conference, sound data can be adjusted using the conference frequency characteristic, and when playing music, sound data can be adjusted using the music frequency characteristic. This makes it possible to output a realistic sound when playing music, improving the user experience.

[0027] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when the setting unit 12 receives a signal used to notify the start of a conference, specifically, a command requesting turning on the LED 31, the setting unit 12 sets the conference frequency characteristics as the characteristics to be used. When the setting unit 12 receives a signal used to notify the end of a conference, specifically, a command requesting turning on the LED 31, the setting unit 12 sets the music frequency characteristics as the characteristics to be used. In this way, the command requesting turning on or off the LED 31 is also used to switch the frequency characteristics, so that it is possible to easily switch the frequency characteristics without changing the application design.

[0028] Although the present disclosure has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. Various modifications or improvements can be made to the above embodiments without departing from the gist of the disclosure, and the forms with such modifications or improvements are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the processing flow described in the above embodiment is also one example, and unnecessary steps may be deleted, new steps may be added, or the processing order may be rearranged, without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

[0029] For example, in the above embodiment, the default frequency characteristic is the music frequency characteristic, but this is not limited to this. For example, the default frequency characteristic may be the conference frequency characteristic, and when a command requesting to start playing music is received from a music data destination device such as the information processing device 50, the music frequency characteristic may be set, and when a command requesting to stop playing music is received, the conference frequency characteristic may be set. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1: Conference sound system 10: Speaker unit 11: Storage section 12: Setting section 13: Signal conditioning section 14: Amplifier 15: Speaker 30: Microphone 31: LED 32: Mute switch 50: Information processing device

Claims

1. A conference audio system including a speaker unit and a microphone, The speaker unit includes: a storage unit in which a conference frequency characteristic and a music frequency characteristic are stored; a setting unit that sets the conference frequency characteristic as a usage characteristic during a conference and sets the music frequency characteristic as a usage characteristic during music reproduction; a signal adjustment unit that adjusts input sound data using the usage characteristics; Equipped with the setting unit sets the conference frequency characteristic as the usage characteristic when a signal used for notifying a start of a conference is received; The microphone is provided with an illumination unit that lights up in different ways depending on a status, A conference audio system, wherein the signal used to notify the start of the conference includes a command for requesting lighting of the microphone.

2. A conference audio system comprising a speaker unit and a microphone, The speaker unit includes: a storage unit in which a conference frequency characteristic and a music frequency characteristic are stored; a setting unit that sets the conference frequency characteristic as a usage characteristic during a conference and sets the music frequency characteristic as a usage characteristic during music reproduction; a signal adjustment unit that adjusts input sound data using the usage characteristics; Equipped with The setting unit sets the conference frequency characteristics as the usage characteristics when a signal used to notify the start of a conference is received, and sets the music frequency characteristics as the usage characteristics when a signal used to notify the end of a conference is received.

3. The microphone is provided with an illumination unit that lights up in different ways depending on a status, 3. The conference audio system according to claim 2, wherein the signal used to notify the end of the conference includes a command for requesting turning off an illumination unit of the microphone.

4. A conference audio system comprising a speaker unit and a microphone, The speaker unit includes: a storage unit in which a conference frequency characteristic and a music frequency characteristic are stored; a setting unit that sets the conference frequency characteristic as a usage characteristic during a conference and sets the music frequency characteristic as a usage characteristic during music reproduction; a signal adjustment unit that adjusts input sound data using the usage characteristics; Equipped with the setting unit sets the conference frequency characteristic as the usage characteristic when a signal used for notifying a start of a conference is received; A conference audio system, wherein, in a predetermined frequency band, the output of the music frequency characteristic is set to a value greater than the output of the conference frequency characteristic.

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