Earphone and earphone system

Abstract

To provide an earphone and an earphone system capable of suppressing loss of the earphone.SOLUTION: An earphone 1A according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure includes an acceleration sensor 14A, a light emitting portion 60A, a detection portion 113A, and a light emission control portion 115A. The acceleration sensor 14A detects acceleration applied to the earphone 1A. The light emitting portion 60A emits light. The detection portion 113A detects drop of the earphone 1A on the basis of the detection result of the acceleration sensor 14A. The light emission control portion 115A controls the light emitting portion 60A to emit light when the detection portion 113A detects that the earphone 1A has been dropped.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to earphones and an earphone system.

Background Art

[0002] Fully wireless earphones have become popular, and the problem of earphone drops has also become prominent. Generally, fully wireless earphones are composed of two earphones, and one of them often drops. Since the housing of the earphone is small, it is often difficult to find when it drops, for example, under the platform of a railway station or under an object. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique related to a loss guarantee service for fully wireless earphones.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, when using the loss guarantee service according to Patent Document 1, it takes time and effort to guarantee the fully wireless earphones after loss. Therefore, it is an issue to suppress the loss of earphones including fully wireless earphones so that users can continue to use them without loss when they drop the earphones.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an earphone and an earphone system capable of suppressing the loss of the earphone.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The earphone of the present disclosure is an earphone, an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration applied to the earphone, A light-emitting unit that emits light, A detection unit that detects the drop of the earphone based on the detection result of the acceleration sensor, A light emission control unit that controls the light-emitting unit to emit light when the drop of the earphone is detected by the detection unit.

[0007] The earphone system of the present disclosure, Comprises first and second earphones that communicate with each other, The light emission control unit of the second earphone, When the drop of the first earphone is detected by the detection unit of the first earphone, the light-emitting unit is caused to emit light at a timing synchronized with the timing at which the light emission control unit of the first earphone causes the light-emitting unit to emit light.

[0008] Another earphone system of the present disclosure, Comprises first and second earphones that communicate with each other, The second earphone, Further comprises an operation control unit that performs control to acquire a user's operation from an operation unit, The light emission control unit of the first earphone, When the drop of the first earphone is detected by the detection unit of the first earphone, the light-emitting unit is caused to emit light at a timing synchronized with the timing at which the user operated, which is acquired by the operation control unit of the second earphone.

[0009] Another earphone system of the present disclosure, Comprises first and second earphones that communicate with each other, The second earphone, Further comprises an audio output control unit that performs control to output audio to an audio output unit, The audio output control unit of the second earphone, When the drop of the first earphone is detected by the detection unit of the first earphone, audio is output at a timing synchronized with the timing at which the light emission control unit of the first earphone causes the light-emitting unit to emit light.

Advantages of the Invention

[0010] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an earphone and an earphone system that can suppress the loss of the earphone.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same elements, and redundant descriptions will be omitted as necessary for clarity of explanation.

[0013] (First Embodiment) First, the configuration of the earphone system 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The earphone system 100 includes an earphone 1A (first earphone) and an earphone 1B (second earphone). For example, the earphone 1A is worn on the user's right ear, and the earphone 1B is an earphone worn on the user's right ear. Note that the earphone 1B may be worn on the user's right ear, and the earphone 1A may be worn on the user's right ear.

[0014] The earphone system 100 is a completely wireless earphone system. The earphones 1A and 1B communicate with each other by a wireless communication method such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). Also, the earphones 1A and 1B communicate with an audio Device device 2 by a wireless communication method. The audio device 2 is a device such as an information terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet, or an audio player.

[0015] The earphone system 100 shown in FIG. 1 will be described as an example of a communication method in which an audio signal is transmitted from the audio Device device 2 to the earphone 1A and then from the earphone 1A to the earphone 1B in a so-called relay method. The relay method is, for example, a connection method in which when the earphone 1A is a right-channel earphone and the earphone 1B is a left-channel earphone, the audio signals of the left and right channels are transmitted to the earphone 1A, and the audio signal of the left channel is transmitted from the earphone 1A to the earphone 1B. The earphone system 100 is not limited to the relay method, and any connection method in which the earphone 1A and the earphone 1B can communicate wirelessly may be used.

[0016] Next, the configuration of the earphone 1A according to the first embodiment will be described using Figures 2 and 3. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the earphone 1A. For this reason, part of the configuration shown in the block diagram of Figure 3 is omitted in Figure 2. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the earphone 1A includes a board unit 10A, an audio output unit 20A, an operation unit 30A, a battery 40A, an antenna 50A, a light-emitting unit 60A, and a power supply unit 70A. The board unit 10A also includes a control unit 11A, an amplifier unit 12A, a communication unit 13A, and an acceleration sensor 14A.

[0017] The configuration of the earphone 1B is the same as that of the earphone 1A, so a description of the configuration of the earphone 1B will be omitted. The earphone 1B includes a board 10B, an audio output unit 20A, an operation unit 30A, a battery 40B, an antenna 50A, a light-emitting unit 60A, and a power supply unit 70B, which correspond to the board 10A, audio output unit 20A, operation unit 30A, battery 40A, antenna 50A, light-emitting unit 60B, and power supply unit 70A of the earphone 1A. The board 10B of the earphone 1B also includes a control unit 11B, an amplifier 12B, a communication unit 13B, and an acceleration sensor 14B, which correspond to the control unit 11A, amplifier 12A, communication unit 13A, and acceleration sensor 14A of the board 10A of the earphone 1A.

[0018] The substrate section 10A is, for example, an electronic circuit board, and has a control section 11A, an amplifier section 12A, a communication section 13A, an acceleration sensor 14A, and the like mounted thereon. The audio output unit 20A is, for example, a driver unit, and converts the audio signal acquired from the amplifier unit 12A into audio vibrations and outputs the converted audio signal.

[0019] The operation unit 30A is, for example, a touch sensor, which detects a touch by the user's finger or pressure as a user operation, and outputs the detected information to the control unit 11A. The battery 40A is a battery that stores power to drive each component included in the earphone 1A.

[0020] The antenna 50A receives audio signals from the communication unit 13A. Device 2 or the antenna for communicating with earphone 1B. The light emitting unit 60A is, for example, an LED, and emits light based on an instruction from the control unit 11A. Power supply unit 70A is a terminal for obtaining power for charging battery 40A, and can be connected to a battery in an earphone case (not shown) that stores earphone system 100.

[0021] The control unit 11A is configured with, for example, a microprocessor, an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and includes an internal memory (not shown). The control unit 11A is a computer that controls various processes of the earphone 1A, loads stored programs into the internal memory, and executes the instructions included in the programs. Furthermore, the control unit 11A includes an audio output control unit 111A, a communication control unit 112A, a detection unit 113A, an operation control unit 114A, a light emission control unit 115A, and a power supply control unit 116A as functions realized by the configuration of the control unit 11A and the programs.

[0022] The amplifier 12A amplifies the audio signal under the control of the audio output control unit 111A and outputs the amplified audio signal to the audio output unit 20A. The communication unit 13A is a communication module that performs, for example, Bluetooth communication, and is controlled by the communication control unit 112A to communicate with the earphone 1B or the audio device. Device 2 and sends and receives information such as voice data and control signals. The acceleration sensor 14A is a sensor that detects the acceleration applied to the earphone 1A.

[0023] 2, the earphone 1A includes, inside the housing, a substrate 10A, an audio output unit 20A, an operation unit 30A, a battery 40A, an antenna 50A, and a light-emitting unit 60A. The housing has a transparent portion so that the light emitted by the light-emitting unit 60A can be seen from outside the housing.

[0024] Next, the functional configuration realized by the control unit 11A of the earphone 1A according to the first embodiment will be described. Since the functions realized by the control unit 11B of the earphone 1B are the same as those realized by the control unit 11A of the earphone 1A, the description thereof will be omitted. That is, the earphone 1B includes a voice output control unit 111B, a communication control unit 112B, a detection unit 113B, an operation control unit 114B, a light emission control unit 115B, and a power supply control unit 116B corresponding to the voice output control unit 111A, the communication control unit 112A, the detection unit 113A, the operation control unit 114A, the light emission control unit 115A, and the power supply control unit 116A included in the control unit 11A of the earphone 1A.

[0025] The voice output control unit 111A performs a decoding process based on the format of the voice data received by the communication unit 13A. Further, the voice output control unit 111A controls the amplification unit 12A. The voice output control unit 111A amplifies the decoded voice signal to a desired output level by the amplification unit 12A and supplies it to the voice output unit 20A to output it as voice.

[0026] The communication control unit 112A controls the wireless communication by the communication unit 13A. The communication unit 13A communicates with the communication unit 13B of the earphone 1B via the antenna 50A based on the control of the communication control unit 112A. Further, the communication control unit 112A controls the reception of voice data from the audio Device 2 via the antenna 50A.

[0027] The detection unit 113A detects the impact of the earphone 1A falling, that is, the fall of the earphone 1A, based on the detection result of the acceleration applied to the earphone 1A detected by the acceleration sensor 14A. The detection unit 113A determines that the earphone 1A has fallen when, based on the output value of the acceleration sensor 14A, an acceleration of a value generated when the earphone 1A hits the ground or the like due to falling is detected.

[0028] When the detection unit 113A detects that the earphone 1A has fallen, the light-emission control unit 115A controls the light-emitting unit 60A to emit light. When the detection unit 113A detects that the earphone 1A has fallen, the light-emission control unit 115A sends information about the timing to cause the light-emitting unit 60A to emit light to the light-emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B via the communication units 13A and 13B. The light-emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B causes the light-emitting unit 60B to emit light at a timing synchronized with the timing at which the light-emission control unit 115A causes the light-emitting unit 60A to emit light.

[0029] The operation control unit 114A controls the operation unit 30A and inputs user operation information. When the light emitting unit 60A is emitting light, the operation control unit 114A controls the operation unit 30A so that the user can perform an operation to stop the light emission of the light emitting unit 60A (hereinafter, a light emission stop operation).

[0030] When power is supplied from power supply unit 70A, power supply control unit 116A controls charging of battery 40A.

[0031] Next, the operation of the earphone system 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The following example is an example in which the earphone 1A has fallen. The processing shown in FIG. 4 may be executed periodically, or may be started when the earphone 1A has been detected as having fallen. If the processing is started when the earphone 1A has been detected as having fallen, step S101 is omitted. First, the detector 113A of the earphone 1A that has fallen determines whether or not it has detected the earphone 1A falling (step S101). The detector 113A of the earphone 1A detects the earphone 1A falling based on the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 14A.

[0032] If the detector 113A of the earphone 1A does not detect that the earphone 1A has fallen (NO in step S101), the earphone system 100 does not execute the processes of steps S102 to S104, which will be described later, and ends the process.

[0033] On the other hand, if the detector 113A of the earphone 1A detects that the earphone 1A has fallen (YES in step S101), the earphone system 100 proceeds to the process of step S102.

[0034] In step S102, the light-emission control unit 115A of the dropped earphone 1A and the light-emission control unit 115B of the non-dropped earphone 1B both start emitting light at synchronized timing in the light-emitting unit 60A and the light-emitting unit 60B, respectively. Specifically, the light-emission control unit 115A of the earphone 1A causes the light-emitting unit 60A to emit light. The light-emission control unit 115A also transmits information about the timing at which the light-emitting unit 60A is to emit light to the light-emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B via the communication units 13A and 13B. The light-emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B then causes the light-emitting unit 60B to emit light at a timing synchronized with the timing at which the light-emission control unit 115A causes the light-emitting unit 60A to emit light.

[0035] 5 and 6 are timing charts showing the light emission timing of the light emitting unit 60A of the dropped earphone 1A and the light emitting unit 60B of the non-dropped earphone 1B. The timing charts shown in Fig. 5 and 6 show the correspondence relationship between the light emission timing of the light emitting unit 60A of the earphone 1A and the light emitting unit 60B of the earphone 1B at a given time (t).

[0036] 5, when the light-emitting unit 60A of the earphone 1A emits light (light-emitting ON in this figure), the light-emitting unit 60B of the earphone 1B also emits light (light-emitting ON in this figure). On the other hand, when the light-emitting unit 60A of the earphone 1A does not emit light (light-emitting OFF in this figure), the light-emitting unit 60B of the earphone 1B does not emit light (light-emitting OFF in this figure). In other words, the light-emitting unit 60A of the earphone 1A and the light-emitting unit 60B of the earphone 1B emit light at the same time, and by repeatedly turning their lights ON and OFF, they flash simultaneously.

[0037] On the one hand, in an example shown in FIG. 6, when the light emitting unit 60A of the earphone 1A emits light (light emission ON in this figure), the light emitting unit 60B of the earphone 1B does not emit light (light emission OFF in this figure). Further, when the light emitting unit 60A of the earphone 1A does not emit light (light emission OFF in this figure), the light emitting unit 60B of the earphone 1B emits light (light emission ON in this figure). That is, the light emitting unit 60A of the earphone 1A and the light emitting unit 60B of the earphone 1B emit light at alternating timings, and by repeating light emission ON and light emission OFF, they alternately blink.

[0038] If the blinking as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 blinks, for example, at a cycle of 1 second, it is easy to find the dropped earphone. The blinking of the earphone 1A and the earphone 1B is not limited to the examples shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

[0039] Returning to FIG. 4. After step S102, the light emission control unit 115A determines whether there is a light emission end operation (step S103). The case where there is a light emission end operation is when the user discovers the dropped earphone 1A and performs a light emission end operation to end the light emission of the light emitting unit 60A on the operation unit 30A of the earphone 1A or the operation unit 30B of the earphone 1B.

[0040] When it is determined that a light emission end operation has been input from the user by the operation control unit 114B (YES in step S103), the light emission control unit 115A of the earphone 1A and the light emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B each end the light emission of the light emitting unit 60A and the light emitting unit 60B (step S104). Specifically, first, the light emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B ends the light emission of the light emitting unit 60B. Further, the light emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B transmits an instruction to end the light emission of the light emitting unit 60A to the light emission control unit 115A of the earphone 1A via the communication unit 13B and the communication unit 13A of the earphone 1A. When the light emission control unit 115A acquires the instruction, it ends the light emission of the light emitting unit 60A.

[0041] On the other hand, when it is determined that a light emission end operation has not been input from the user by the operation control unit 114B of the earphone 1B (NO in step S103), the earphone system 100 performs the process of step S103 again.

[0042] It should be noted that this is not limited to the above embodiment, and the user may perform a light emission termination operation on the operation unit 30A of the earphone 1A. In this case, the operation control unit 114A of the earphone 1A acquires information about the user's light emission termination operation via the operation unit 30A. The light emission control unit 115A of the earphone 1A and the light emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B may then terminate the light emission of the light-emitting unit 60A and the light-emitting unit 60B, respectively. It is also not limited to the above embodiment, and the light emission control unit 115A of the earphone 1A and the light-emitting control unit 115B of the earphone 1B may terminate the light emission of the light-emitting unit 60A and the light-emitting unit 60B, respectively, only when the user inputs a light emission termination operation to both the operation unit 30A of the earphone 1A and the operation unit 30B of the earphone 1B.

[0043] In the above embodiment, the operation of the earphone system 100 when the earphone 1A is dropped has been described, but the earphone system 100 also performs the same operation when the earphone 1B is dropped. That is, assume that the detector 113B of the earphone 1B detects that the earphone 1B has been dropped. In this case, the light emission control unit 115A of the earphone 1A causes the light emitting unit 60A to emit light in synchronization with the timing at which the light emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B causes the light emitting unit 60B to emit light.

[0044] As described above, the earphone 1A according to the first embodiment includes an acceleration sensor 14A, a light emitting unit 60A, a detection unit 113A, and an emission control unit 115A. The acceleration sensor 14A detects acceleration. The light emitting unit 60A emits light. The detection unit 113A detects that the earphone 1A has fallen based on the detection result of the acceleration sensor 14A. The emission control unit 115A controls the light emitting unit 60A to emit light when the detection unit 113A detects that the earphone 1A has fallen.

[0045] Therefore, when the user drops the earphone 1A, the earphone system 100 according to the first embodiment makes it easier for the user to find the earphone 1A by emitting light from the earphone 1A. Therefore, the earphone system 100 can prevent the earphone from being lost.

[0046] Furthermore, the earphone system 100 according to the first embodiment includes earphones 1A and 1B that communicate with each other. When the fall of the earphone 1A is detected by the detection unit 113A of the earphone 1A, the light emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B causes the light emission unit 60B to emit light at a timing synchronized with the timing at which the light emission control unit 115A of the earphone 1A causes the light emission unit 60A to emit light. When the fall of the earphone 1B is detected by the detection unit 113B of the earphone 1A, the light emission control unit 115A of the earphone 1A causes the light emission unit 60A to emit light at a timing synchronized with the timing at which the light emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B causes the light emission unit 60B to emit light.

[0047] Therefore, in the earphone system 100 according to the first embodiment, the user can determine the light emission timing of the dropped earphone from the light emission timing of the non-dropped earphone, making it easier to further find the dropped earphone.

[0048] (Second Embodiment) Subsequently, the configuration of the earphone system 200 according to the second embodiment will be described. The earphone system 200 according to the second embodiment includes earphones 1A and 1B, similar to the earphone system 100 according to the first embodiment, but the functions of each component are different.

[0049] The earphone system 200 includes earphones 1A and 1B that communicate with each other. When the fall of the earphone 1A is detected by the detection unit 113A of the earphone 1A, the light emission control unit 115A of the earphone 1A causes the light emission unit 60A to emit light at a timing synchronized with the timing at which the user operated, which is included in the user operation information acquired by the operation control unit 114B of the earphone 1B. The user operation information is, for example, a touch operation in which the user touches the operation unit 30B. The operation control unit 114B acquires the timing specified by the user based on the presence or absence of the user's touch on the operation unit 30B.

[0050] Furthermore, when the detection unit of the earphone 1B detects that the earphone 1B has fallen, the light emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B causes the light emission unit 60B to emit light at a timing synchronized with the timing of the user operation contained in the user operation information acquired by the operation control unit of the earphone 1A.

[0051] Next, the operation of the earphone system 200 according to the second embodiment will be described using FIG. 7. The following example is an example of what happens when the earphone 1A is dropped. Steps S201 and S205 shown in FIG. 7 are the same processes as steps S101 and S103 shown in FIG. 4, and therefore their description will be omitted. In step S201, if the detection unit 113A of the earphone 1A does not detect that the earphone 1A has been dropped (NO in step S201), the earphone system 200 does not execute the processes of steps S202 to S206, which will be described later, and ends the process.

[0052] In step S201, if the detection unit 113A of the earphone 1A detects a fall (YES in step S201), the light emission control unit 115A of the earphone 1A transmits information indicating that the fall of the earphone 1A has been detected to the operation control unit 114B of the earphone 1B via the communication unit 13A and the communication unit 13B of the non-fallen earphone 1B.

[0053] Next, the operation control unit 114B of the earphone 1B enables touch light emission control of the operation unit 30B (step S202). Touch light emission control is a control that allows the user to control the timing of light emission of the light emitting unit 60A of the earphone 1A by touching the operation unit 30B of the earphone 1B.

[0054] Next, the operation control unit 114B determines whether there is a touch operation by the user on the operation unit 30B of the user (step S203). When the operation control unit 114B determines that there is a touch operation by the user on the operation unit 30B of the user (YES in step S203), it transmits information indicating that there is a touch operation by the user (hereinafter, touch operation information) to the light emission control unit 115A of the earphone 1A via the communication unit 13B and the communication unit 13A. The light emission control unit 115A causes the light emission unit 60A to emit light at a timing corresponding to the period during which the user's touch is detected (hereinafter, touch detection period) from the received touch operation information (step S204).

[0055] FIG. 8 is a timing chart showing the detection of the user's touch on the operation unit 30B of the non-falling side earphone 1B and the light emission timing of the light emission unit 60A of the falling side earphone 1A according to the second embodiment. Specifically, the timing chart shown in FIG. 8 shows the correspondence between the presence or absence of detection of the user's touch operation on the operation unit 30B of the non-falling side earphone 1B per a predetermined time (t) and the light emission timing of the light emission unit 60A of the falling side earphone 1A.

[0056] When a touch operation by the user is detected on the operation unit 30B of the earphone 1B (touch detection in this figure), the light emission unit 60A of the earphone 1A emits light (light emission ON in this figure). Here, the light emission unit 60A of the earphone 1A continues to emit light during the period in which the user's touch is detected by the operation unit 30B of the earphone 1B.

[0057] On the other hand, when a touch operation by the user is not detected on the operation unit 30B of the earphone 1B (touch non-detection in this figure), the light emission unit 60A of the earphone 1A does not emit light (light emission OFF in this figure).

[0058] Return to the description of FIG. 7. When the operation control unit 114B determines in step S203 that there is no touch operation by the user on the user operation unit 30B (NO in step S203), the earphone system 200 does not perform light emission during the touch detection period in step S204 and proceeds to the process of step S205. As a condition for determining that there is no touch operation by the user on the user operation unit 30B, for example, when 60 seconds or the like has elapsed since the touch light emission control in the operation unit 30B of the earphone 1B was enabled, it is determined that there is no touch operation.

[0059] After step S204, the light emission control unit 115A determines whether there is a light emission end operation (step S205). Here, the process of step S205 is the same as the process of step S103 described above. When it is determined that there is a light emission end operation (YES in step S205), the light emission control unit 115A ends the light emission of the light emission unit 60A (step S206). Here, the operation control unit 114B of the earphone 1B may invalidate the touch light emission control in the operation unit 30B. On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no light emission end operation (NO in step S205), the earphone system 200 returns to the process of step S203.

[0060] Also, in the above-described embodiment, the operation of the earphone system 200 when the earphone 1A drops has been described. However, the earphone system 200 performs the same operation when the earphone 1B drops. That is, it is assumed that the drop of the earphone 1B is detected by the detection unit of the earphone 1B. In that case, the light emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B causes the light emission unit 60B to emit light at a timing synchronized with the timing when the user operated included in the user operation information acquired by the operation control unit of the earphone 1A.

[0061] In the earphone system 200 according to the second embodiment, in addition to the effects of the earphone system 100 according to the first embodiment, since the user can control the timing of the light emission of the dropped earphone, it becomes easier to find the dropped earphone.

[0062] (Third Embodiment) Next, the configuration of the earphone system 300 according to the third embodiment will be described. The earphone system 300 according to the third embodiment includes earphones 1A and 1B, similar to the earphone system 100 according to the first embodiment, but the functions of the respective components are different.

[0063] The earphone system 300 includes earphones 1A and 1B that communicate with each other. When the detection unit 113A of the earphone 1A detects that the earphone 1A has fallen, the voice output control unit 111B of the earphone 1B outputs voice to the voice output unit 20B at a timing synchronized with the timing when the light emission control unit 115A of the earphone 1A causes the light emitting unit 60A to emit light. Further, when the detection unit 113B of the earphone 1B detects that the earphone 1B has fallen, the voice output control unit 111A of the earphone 1A outputs voice to the voice output unit 20A at a timing synchronized with the timing when the light emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B causes the light emitting unit 60B to emit light.

[0064] Next, the operation of the earphone system 300 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 9. The following example is an example when the earphone 1A has fallen. Since steps S301 and S303 shown in FIG. 9 are the same processes as steps S101 and S103 shown in FIG. 4, the description thereof will be omitted. In step S301, when the detection unit 113A of the earphone 1A does not detect the fall of the earphone 1A (NO in step S301), the earphone system 300 does not execute the processes of step S302 to step S304 described later and ends the process.

[0065] In step S301, when the detection unit 113A of the earphone 1A detects the fall of the earphone 1A (YES in step S301), the light emission control unit 115A causes the light emitting unit 60A to emit light. Further, the light emission control unit 115A transmits information indicating that the fall of the earphone 1A has been detected to the voice output control unit 111B of the earphone 1B via the communication unit 13A and the communication unit 13B of the non-falling side earphone 1B.

[0066] Next, the voice output control unit 111B outputs voice to the voice output unit 20B of the earphone 1B at a timing synchronized with the light emission timing of the light emission unit 60A of the earphone 1A (step S302). For example, the voice output control unit 111B outputs a beeping sound or the like to the voice output unit 20B in accordance with the light emission timing of the light emission unit 60A of the earphone 1A.

[0067] FIG. 10 is a timing chart showing the timing of light emission of the light emission unit 60A in the dropping earphone 1A and the timing of voice output to the voice output unit 20B of the non-dropping earphone 1B according to the third embodiment. Specifically, the timing chart shown in FIG. 10 shows the correspondence relationship between the light emission timing of the light emission unit 60A in the dropping earphone 1A and the voice output timing to the voice output unit 20B of the non-dropping earphone 1B per a predetermined time (t).

[0068] As shown in FIG. 10, when the light emission unit 60A in the earphone 1A emits light (light emission ON in this figure), voice is output to the voice output unit 20B of the earphone 1B (voice ON in this figure). On the other hand, when the light emission unit 60A in the earphone 1A does not emit light (light emission OFF in this figure), the voice output unit 20B of the earphone 1B does not output voice (voice OFF in this figure).

[0069] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is sufficient that the light emission timing of the light emission unit 60A in the earphone 1A corresponds to the voice output timing to the voice output unit 20B of the earphone 1B. For example, when the light emission unit 60A in the earphone 1A emits light, the voice output unit 20B of the earphone 1B may not output voice. Also, when the light emission unit 60A in the earphone 1A does not emit light, the voice output unit 20B of the earphone 1B may output voice.

[0070] Returning to the description of FIG. 9. After step S302, the light emission control unit 115A determines whether or not there is an end-of-light-emission operation (step S303). Here, the process of step S303 is the same as the process of step S103 described above. When it is determined that there is a light emission end operation (YES in step S303), the light emission control unit 115A ends the light emission of the light emission unit 60A (step S304). Here, the audio output control unit 111B of the earphone 1B may stop the audio output to the audio output unit 20B. On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no light emission end operation (NO in step S303), the earphone system 300 performs the process of step S303 again.

[0071] In the above-described embodiment, the operation of the earphone system 300 when the earphone 1A drops has been described. However, the earphone system 300 performs the same operation when the earphone 1B drops. That is, it is assumed that the drop of the earphone 1B is detected by the detection unit 113B of the earphone 1B. In that case, the audio output control unit 111A of the earphone 1A outputs the audio to the audio output unit 20A at a timing synchronized with the timing at which the light emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B causes the light emission unit 60B to emit light.

[0072] Therefore, in the earphone system 300 according to the third embodiment, in addition to the effects of the earphone system 100 according to the first embodiment, since the user can search for the dropped earphone while listening to the sound, it becomes easier to find the dropped earphone. Further, since the timing of the light emission of the dropped earphone and the timing of the output sound are synchronized, it becomes easier for the user to find the dropped earphone.

[0073] (Fourth Embodiment) Subsequently, with reference to FIG. 11, the configuration of the earphone system 400 according to the fourth embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 11, the earphone system 400 according to the fourth embodiment is different from the earphone system 100 according to the first embodiment in that, in addition to the earphone 1A and the earphone 1B, it includes an audio device 2 which is another device. The earphones 1A and the earphones 1B communicate with each other via the audio device 2 by a so-called simultaneous left and right transmission method. The simultaneous left and right transmission method is, for example, when the earphones 1A are the right-channel earphones and the earphones 1B are the left-channel earphones, a connection method in which an audio signal of the right channel is transmitted from the audio device 2 to the earphones 1A and an audio signal of the left channel is transmitted to the earphones 1B. The earphone system 400 is not limited to the simultaneous left and right transmission method, and any connection method in which the earphones 1A and the earphones 1B can communicate wirelessly via the audio device 2 may be used.

[0074] The audio device 2 is, for example, an information terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet, or a device such as an audio player. The audio device 2 has the function of the control unit 11A of the earphones 1A according to the first, second, and third embodiments described above, instead of the earphones 1A. Note that the audio device 2 may have the function of the control unit 11B of the earphones 1B according to the first, second, and third embodiments described above, instead of the earphones 1B.

[0075] Specifically, when the audio device 2 detects that the earphones 1A have fallen by the detection unit 113A of the earphones 1A, the audio device 2 performs control to cause the light emitting unit 60A of the earphones 1A to emit light, instead of the light emission control unit 115A of the earphones 1A. Further, the audio device 2 performs control to cause the light emitting unit 60B of the earphones 1B to emit light, instead of the light emission control unit 115B of the earphones 1B. The audio device 2 performs at least one of the control to cause the light emitting unit 60A to emit light and the control to cause the light emitting unit 60B to emit light.

[0076] More specifically, when the detection unit 113A of the earphones 1A detects that the earphones 1A have fallen, the light emission control unit 115A of the earphones 1A transmits information on the detected fall to the audio device 2 via the communication unit 13A. Then, the audio device 2 causes the light emitting unit 60A of the earphones 1A to emit light via the communication unit 13A. Further, the audio device 2 causes the light emitting unit 60B of the earphones 1B to emit light at a timing synchronized with the timing when the light emitting unit 60A of the earphones 1A emits light, via the communication unit 13B.

[0077] On the other hand, when the detection unit 113B of the earphone 1B detects the dropping of the earphone 1B, the light emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B transmits the information on the detected dropping to the audio device 2 via the communication unit 13B. Then, the audio device 2 causes the light emitting unit 60B of the earphone 1B to emit light via the communication unit 13B. Further, the audio device 2 causes the light emitting unit 60A of the earphone 1A to emit light at a timing synchronized with the timing at which the light emitting unit 60B of the earphone 1B emits light via the communication unit 13A.

[0078] Also, when the detection unit 113A of the earphone 1A detects the dropping of the earphone 1A, the light emission control unit 115A of the earphone 1A transmits the information on the detected dropping to the audio device 2 via the communication unit 13A. Thereafter, the audio device 2 receives, via the communication unit 13B from the earphone 1B, the user operation information on the operation unit 30B acquired by the operation control unit 114B of the earphone 1B. The user operation information is, for example, a touch operation in which the user touches the operation unit 30B. The operation control unit 114B acquires the timing at which the user operates based on the presence or absence of the touch on the operation unit 30B by the user. The audio device 2 causes the light emitting unit 60A to emit light via the communication unit 13A at a timing synchronized with the timing specified by the user included in the user operation information.

[0079] On the other hand, when the detection unit 113B of the earphone 1B detects the dropping of the earphone 1B, the light emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B transmits the information on the detected dropping to the audio device 2 via the communication unit 13B. Thereafter, the audio device 2 receives, via the communication unit 13A from the earphone 1A, the user operation information on the operation unit 30A acquired by the operation control unit 114A of the earphone 1A. The audio device 2 causes the light emitting unit 60B to emit light via the communication unit 13B at a timing synchronized with the timing specified by the user included in the user operation information.

[0080] Further, the audio device 2 may perform control to output audio to the audio output unit 20B of the earphone 1B instead of the audio output control unit 111B of the earphone 1B, or perform control to output audio to the audio output unit 20A of the earphone 1A instead of the audio output control unit 111A of the earphone 1A.

[0081] More specifically, when the detection unit 113A of the earphone 1A detects a drop of the earphone 1A, the light emission control unit 115A of the earphone 1A transmits information on the detected drop to the audio device 2 via the communication unit 13A. The audio device 2 causes the light emission unit 60A of the earphone 1A to emit light. Further, the audio device 2 outputs audio to the audio output unit 20B of the earphone 1B at a timing synchronized with the timing at which the light emission unit 60A of the earphone 1A emits light via the communication unit 13B.

[0082] On the other hand, when the detection unit 113B of the earphone 1B detects a drop of the earphone 1B, the light emission control unit 115B of the earphone 1B transmits information on the detected drop to the audio device 2 via the communication unit 13B. The audio device 2 causes the light emission unit 60B of the earphone 1B to emit light. Further, the audio device 2 outputs audio to the audio output unit 20A of the earphone 1A at a timing synchronized with the timing at which the light emission unit 60B of the earphone 1B emits light via the communication unit 13A.

[0083] In the earphone system 400 according to the fourth embodiment, the control performed by the earphones 1A and 1B according to the first, second, and third embodiments can be performed by the audio device 2.

[0084] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be appropriately modified without departing from the gist thereof.

[0085] Furthermore, each component in the above-described embodiments may be configured with hardware or software, or both, and may be configured with one piece of hardware or software, or may be configured with multiple pieces of hardware or software. The functions (processing) of each component in the above-described embodiments may be implemented by a computer. For example, control unit 11A, control unit 11B, or a control unit (not shown) of audio device 2 may each store a program for performing the method in the embodiment in an internal memory built therein, and each control unit may implement each function by executing the program stored in the internal memory.

[0086] These programs include instructions (or software codes) that, when loaded into a computer, cause the computer to perform one or more functions described in the embodiments. The programs may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium or a tangible storage medium. By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable media or tangible storage media include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid-state drive (SSD), or other memory technologies. The programs may be transmitted on a transitory computer-readable medium or a communication medium. By way of example and not limitation, transitory computer-readable media or communication media include electrical, optical, or other forms of propagated signals. [Explanation of symbols]

[0087] 1A Earphone (first earphone) 1B earphone (second earphone) 2 Audio equipment 10A, 10B board part 11A, 11B control section 12A, 12B amplifier section 13A, 13B Communication Department 14A, 14B Acceleration Sensor 20A, 20B Audio output section 30A, 30B operation section 40A, 40B battery 50A, 50B Antenna 60A, 60B light emitting part 70A, 70B power supply 100 earphone system 111A, 111B Audio output control section 112A, 112B communication control unit 113A, 113B detection unit 114A, 114B Operation control section 115A, 115B Light emission control unit 116A, 116B Power supply control section 200 earphone system 300 Earphone System 400 Earphone System

Claims

1. An earphone, comprising: a light emitting unit that emits light; a detection unit that detects the dropping of the earphone; a light emission control unit that performs control to cause the light emitting unit to emit light when the detection unit detects the dropping of the earphone; and the first and second earphones that perform wireless communication with each other, wherein the light emission control unit of the second earphone: causes the light emitting unit of the second earphone to emit light at a timing synchronized with the timing at which the light emission control unit of the first earphone causes the light emitting unit of the first earphone to emit light when the detection unit of the first earphone detects the dropping of the first earphone; further comprises another device that performs wireless communication with each of the first and second earphones, wherein the other device: when the detection unit of the first earphone detects the dropping of the first earphone, performs at least one of control to cause the light emitting unit of the first earphone to emit light instead of the light emission control unit of the first earphone and control to cause the light emitting unit of the second earphone to emit light instead of the light emission control unit of the second earphone; An earphone system.

2. An earphone, comprising: a light emitting unit that emits light; a detection unit that detects the dropping of the earphone; a light emission control unit that performs control to cause the light emitting unit to emit light when the detection unit detects the dropping of the earphone; and the first and second earphones that perform wireless communication with each other, wherein the second earphone: further comprises an operation control unit that performs control to obtain a user operation from an operation unit, wherein the light emission control unit of the first earphone: causes the light emitting unit of the first earphone to emit light at a timing synchronized with the timing of the user operation obtained by the operation control unit of the second earphone when the detection unit of the first earphone detects the dropping of the first earphone; An earphone system.

3. An earphone, comprising: a light emitting unit that emits light; a detection unit that detects the dropping of the earphone; a light emission control unit that performs control to cause the light emitting unit to emit light when the detection unit detects the dropping of the earphone; and the first and second earphones that perform wireless communication with each other, wherein the second earphone: further comprises an audio output control unit that performs control to output audio to an audio output unit, wherein the audio output control unit of the second earphone: When the detection unit of the first earphone detects the fall of the first earphone, the voice output control unit is caused to output voice at a timing synchronized with the timing at which the light emission control unit of the first earphone causes the light emission unit of the first earphone to emit light. The apparatus further includes another device that wirelessly communicates with the first and second earphones respectively. The other device is When the detection unit of the first earphone detects the fall of the first earphone, Performs at least one of control to cause the light emission unit of the first earphone to emit light instead of the light emission control unit of the first earphone and control to cause the light emission unit of the second earphone to emit light instead of the light emission control unit of the second earphone. An earphone system.

4. The first and second earphones, The apparatus further includes another device that wirelessly communicates with the first and second earphones respectively. The other device is When the detection unit of the first earphone detects the fall of the first earphone, Performs at least one of control to cause the light emission unit of the first earphone to emit light instead of the light emission control unit of the first earphone and control to cause the light emission unit of the second earphone to emit light instead of the light emission control unit of the second earphone. The earphone system according to claim 2.

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