Electronic device and control method thereof

Abstract

This electronic device comprises: a sensing device for sensing a user around the electronic device; a plurality of speakers spaced apart from each other; an audio output device for generating an audio signal to be provided to each of the plurality of speakers and providing the generated audio signal to at least one of the plurality of speakers; and a processor for controlling the audio output device to generate an audio signal corresponding to each speaker, by using mapping information on a channel to be output from each of the plurality of speakers, wherein the processor controls the audio output device by selectively using one of first mapping information assigned on the basis of the positions of the plurality of speakers and second mapping information assigned on the basis of the position of the user, on the basis of the position of the user sensed by the sensing device.

Description

Electronic device and method of controlling the same

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an electronic device and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to an electronic device capable of changing the output channel of each speaker according to a user's location or selection, and a control method thereof.

[0002] Recent electronic devices are equipped with speakers for outputting voice and / or sound, and are equipped with multiple speakers for outputting music with multiple channels.

[0003] When equipped with multiple speakers, the electronic device assumes that the user is positioned in front of the device and outputs music by providing a corresponding channel for each of the multiple speakers. For example, when equipped with two speakers, the left audio signal is output to the left speaker, and the right audio signal is output to the right speaker.

[0004] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device includes a sensing device for detecting at least one user location, a plurality of speakers spaced apart from each other, an audio output device for generating an audio signal, and a processor for controlling the audio output device to select mapping information for outputting at least one channel through the plurality of speakers based on positions of the plurality of speakers or mapping information for outputting at least one channel through at least one speaker among the plurality of speakers based on the at least one user location detected by the sensing device, generate at least one audio signal for outputting from at least one speaker determined based on the selected mapping information among the plurality of speakers, and provide the generated at least one audio signal to the determined at least one speaker so that the generated at least one audio signal is output through the determined at least one speaker.

[0005] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, if at least one user position detected by the sensing device is a preset listening area, the processor controls the audio output device using mapping information that maps at least one channel to be output through a plurality of speakers based on positions of the plurality of speakers, and if at least one user position detected by the sensing device is not the preset listening area, the processor controls the audio output device using mapping information that maps at least one channel through at least one speaker corresponding to at least one user position detected by the sensing device among the plurality of speakers.

[0006] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, if at least one user location detected by the sensing device is not the preset listening area, the processor may generate a mixed audio signal to be output from a speaker corresponding to at least one user location detected by the sensing device among the plurality of speakers based on the selected mapping information, control the audio output device to provide the mixed audio signal to the speaker corresponding to the at least one user location detected by the sensing device, and control the audio output device not to output audio signals to the remaining speakers among the plurality of speakers.

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of speakers include a first speaker located on the left side of the electronic device, and a second speaker located on the right side of the electronic device, and the processor generates an audio signal of a left channel to be output from the first speaker if at least one user position detected by the sensing device is a preset listening area, outputs the generated audio signal of the left channel to the first speaker, generates an audio signal of a right channel to be output from the second speaker, and outputs the generated audio signal of the right channel to the second speaker, and generates an audio signal in which the audio signal of the left channel and the audio signal of the right channel are mixed for output from the first speaker if at least one user position detected by the sensing device is a left area outside the preset listening area, outputs an audio signal in which the audio signal of the left channel and the audio signal of the right channel are mixed to the first speaker, and controls the audio output device such that the second speaker does not output sound.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic device further includes a communication device that performs communication with a speaker device external to the electronic device, and the processor generates an audio signal of a first channel to be output from a speaker corresponding to at least one user location detected by the sensing device among the plurality of speakers based on at least one user location detected by the sensing device being not in the preset listening area, and controls the audio output device to output the generated audio signal of the first channel to the speaker corresponding to the at least one user location detected by the sensing device, and generates an audio signal of a second channel to be output from the speaker device, and controls the audio output device to output the generated audio signal of the second channel to the speaker device through the communication device.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor can control the communication device so that data corresponding to the generated second channel audio signal is transmitted to the speaker device.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one user location detected by the sensing device includes a plurality of user locations, and the processor selects mapping information for mapping at least one speaker and at least one channel among a plurality of speakers based on the at least one user location detected by the sensing device, and controls the audio output device such that each of the plurality of speakers generates an audio signal in which a plurality of channels are mixed based on the selected mapping information, and each of the plurality of speakers outputs the generated mixed audio signal.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic device further includes a communication device that performs communication with a speaker device external to the electronic device, and the processor sets at least one first speaker among the plurality of speakers and the speaker device as one speaker group based on a position of the speaker device, generates an audio signal of a first channel output from the at least one first speaker, outputs the generated audio signal of the first channel to the at least one first speaker, generates an audio signal of a second channel output through the speaker device, outputs the generated audio signal of the second channel to the speaker device through the communication device, generates an audio signal in which the first channel and the second channel are mixed and output through the remaining speakers among the plurality of speakers that do not belong to the speaker group, and controls the audio output device to output the generated mixed audio signal to the remaining speakers.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic device further includes a communication device that performs communication with each of a first speaker device and a second speaker device external to the electronic device, and the processor generates an audio signal of a first channel to be output from the first speaker device based on at least one user location detected by the detection device being adjacent to the first speaker device and the second speaker device at a distance from the electronic device, and outputs the generated first channel audio signal to the first speaker device through the communication device, generates an audio signal of a second channel to be output from the second speaker device, and controls the audio output device such that the generated second channel audio signal is output to the second speaker device through the communication device.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor may control the audio output device so that the plurality of speakers do not output sound based on at least one user location detected by the sensing device being adjacent to the first speaker device and the second speaker device at a distance from the electronic device.

[0014] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, each of the mapping information for mapping at least one channel to be output through a plurality of speakers based on the positions of the plurality of speakers and the mapping information for mapping at least one channel to be output through at least one speaker among the plurality of speakers based on at least one user position detected by the detection device may further include at least one of reproduction band information, level information, and gain characteristics to be output from each of the plurality of speakers.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the detection device may include at least one of a microphone for detecting the location of the user based on the location of the user's speech, a camera, a UWB communication device for communicating with the user terminal device, and a lidar sensor.

[0016] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for controlling an electronic device including a sensing device for detecting at least one user location, a plurality of speakers spaced apart from each other, and an audio output device for generating an audio signal may include the steps of: selecting mapping information for outputting at least one channel through a plurality of speakers based on positions of the plurality of speakers or mapping information for outputting at least one channel through at least one speaker among the plurality of speakers based on the at least one user location detected by the sensing device; generating at least one audio signal for outputting from at least one speaker determined based on the selected mapping information among the plurality of speakers; and controlling the audio output device to provide the generated at least one audio signal to the determined at least one speaker so that the generated at least one audio signal is output through the determined at least one speaker.

[0017] In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing a control method of an electronic device including a sensing device for detecting at least one user position, a plurality of speakers spaced apart from each other, and an audio output device for generating an audio signal, the control method may include the steps of: selecting mapping information for outputting at least one channel through a plurality of speakers based on positions of the plurality of speakers or mapping information for outputting at least one channel through at least one speaker among the plurality of speakers based on the selected mapping information; generating at least one audio signal for outputting from at least one speaker determined based on the selected mapping information among the plurality of speakers; and controlling the audio output device to provide the generated at least one audio signal to the determined at least one speaker so that the generated at least one audio signal is output through the determined at least one speaker.

[0018] The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings:

[0019] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the operation of an electronic device according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic device according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic device according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of arrangement of a plurality of speakers according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of channel mapping according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of channel mapping according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of channel mapping according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0026] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of channel mapping according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of channel mapping according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of channel mapping according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, and

[0029] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a control method according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] The present embodiments may be modified and have various embodiments, and specific embodiments are illustrated and described in detail in the drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the scope to specific embodiments, and it should be understood that various modifications, equivalents, and / or alternatives of the embodiments of the present disclosure are included. In connection with the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used for similar components.

[0031] In describing the present disclosure, if it is determined that a specific description of a related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present disclosure, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0032] Additionally, the following embodiments may be modified in various other forms, and the scope of the technical concepts of the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments. Rather, these embodiments are provided to further faithfully and completely convey the technical concepts of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0033] The terminology used in this disclosure is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of the rights. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0034] In this disclosure, expressions such as “has,” “can have,” “includes,” or “may include” indicate the presence of a corresponding feature (e.g., a component such as a number, function, operation, or part), and do not exclude the presence of additional features.

[0035] In this disclosure, expressions such as “A or B,” “at least one of A and / or B,” or “one or more of A or / and B,” “at least one of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” etc. can include all possible combinations of the listed items. For example, “A or B,” “at least one of A and B,” or “at least one of A or B” can all refer to (1) including at least one A, (2) including at least one B, or (3) including both at least one A and at least one B.

[0036] The expressions “first,” “second,” “first,” or “second,” etc., used in this disclosure can describe various components, regardless of order and / or importance, and are only used to distinguish one component from another, but do not limit the components.

[0037] When it is said that a component (e.g., a first component) is “(operatively or communicatively) coupled with / to” or “connected to” another component (e.g., a second component), it should be understood that said component may be directly coupled to said other component, or may be coupled via another component (e.g., a third component).

[0038] On the other hand, when it is said that a component (e.g., a first component) is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component (e.g., a second component), it can be understood that no other component (e.g., a third component) exists between said component and said other component.

[0039] The expression "configured to" as used in the present disclosure may be used interchangeably with, for example, "suitable for," "having the capacity to," "designed to," "adapted to," "made to," or "capable of." The term "configured to" may not necessarily mean only "specifically designed to" in terms of hardware.

[0040] Instead, in some contexts, the phrase "a device configured to" may mean that the device, in conjunction with other devices or components, is "capable of" performing A, B, and C. For example, the phrase "a processor configured (or set) to perform A, B, and C" may refer to a dedicated processor (e.g., an embedded processor) for performing those operations, or a general-purpose processor (e.g., a CPU or application processor) that can perform those operations by executing one or more software programs stored in a memory device.

[0041] In the embodiments, a 'module' or 'part' performs at least one function or operation, and may be implemented as hardware or software, or as a combination of hardware and software. Furthermore, a plurality of 'modules' or 'parts' may be integrated into at least one module and implemented as at least one processor, except for a 'module' or 'part' that needs to be implemented as a specific hardware.

[0042] According to various embodiments, operations performed by a module, program or other component may be executed sequentially, in parallel, iteratively or heuristically, or at least some operations may be executed in a different order, omitted, or other operations may be added.

[0043] Meanwhile, the various elements and areas in the drawings are schematically drawn. Therefore, the technical concept of the present invention is not limited by the relative sizes or spacing depicted in the attached drawings.

[0044] Meanwhile, an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may include, for example, at least one of a smartphone, a tablet PC, a desktop PC, a laptop PC, a home theater, and a sound bar.

[0045] In some embodiments, the electronic device may include at least one of, for example, a television, a digital video disk (DVD) player, an audio device, a refrigerator, an air conditioner, a vacuum cleaner, an oven, a microwave oven, a washing machine, an air purifier, a robot vacuum cleaner, a set-top box, a home automation control panel, a security control panel, a media box (e.g., Samsung HomeSync™, Apple TV™, or Google TV™), a game console (e.g., Xbox™, PlayStation™), an electronic dictionary, an electronic key, a camcorder, or an electronic picture frame. The above-described device examples are examples, and any device may be a device having multiple speakers.

[0046] Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described in detail so that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present disclosure pertains can easily implement the present disclosure.

[0047] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the operation of an electronic device according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0048] Referring to FIG. 1, an electronic device (100) is illustrated. The electronic device (100) includes a plurality of speakers and can output audio signals, such as movie content, music content, game content, etc., using the plurality of speakers. The electronic device (100) has a sound bar shape as illustrated, but may be implemented in a different shape upon implementation.

[0049] When multiple speakers are provided, each speaker typically operates based on a predefined channel role.

[0050] For example, if the electronic device (100) includes a left speaker, a center speaker, and a right speaker, the channel roles may be defined such that the left speaker outputs an audio signal corresponding to the left channel, the center speaker outputs an audio signal corresponding to the left and right channels (or voice, center channel), and the right speaker outputs an audio signal corresponding to the right channel.

[0051] Here, a channel refers to the position of each audio source within an audio signal. For example, a stereo channel may include two audio sources (i.e., a left audio source and a right audio source). In other words, the number of channels may refer to the number of audio sources included in an audio signal (or content, etc.). Meanwhile, the description above assumes that sound output is performed using content having multiple audio sources (i.e., multiple channels), but is not limited thereto. Specifically, when content having a single audio source is input, an upmix method may be used to generate an audio signal having multiple channels, thereby performing an operation similar to that of the present disclosure.

[0052] This channel roll is set assuming that the user is positioned in front of the electronic device (100) (or in a preset listening area). When using a general channel roll, if the electronic device has two speakers, the left speaker will output the audio signal of the left channel, and the right speaker will output the audio signal of the right channel. Accordingly, the user positioned in front of the electronic device (100) can enjoy a three-dimensional sound. Here, the front does not only refer to exactly 0 degrees in front of the electronic device, but may also include a position where surround sounds output from multiple speakers can be heard in a three-dimensional manner.

[0053] Here, the audio signal may be an analog signal as well as a digital audio frame. That is, the audio signal of the present disclosure may also be referred to as an audio frame, etc.

[0054] Meanwhile, if the user (10) is not positioned in front of the electronic device but in an area biased to the right (specifically, a location outside the preset listening area), acoustic energy may be concentrated in a location where the user is not present, or the main channel sound may not be heard well from the current user's (10') location. In addition, if multiple users are positioned apart from each other in front of the electronic device (100), there is a problem in that the listening conditions of the main channel sound are different for each user.

[0055] The present disclosure describes a method for adjusting the channels output from each of a plurality of speakers by using channel roles based on the user's location, rather than just using channel roles based on the speaker's location.

[0056] Here, the channel role includes information about the channel information to be output from each speaker, and may be referred to as mapping information, channel information, rule information, etc. In addition, the above-described channel role may include not only mapping information for each speaker, but also information such as playback band, level, and gain.

[0057] For ease of explanation, the following description uses channel roles based on the user's location. However, the new channel roles described above may be based not only on the user's location (direction and / or distance), but also on the user's selection (or settings). In other words, such channel role changes may be applied automatically through detection of the user's location, or may be performed manually, such as through user selection.

[0058] Meanwhile, although Fig. 1 illustrates and describes a case where three speakers are provided, it can be applied to a case where two speakers are provided or a case where four or more speakers are provided during implementation.

[0059] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic device according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0060] Referring to FIG. 2, the electronic device (100) may include a sensing device (110), an audio output device (120), a processor (130), and a plurality of speakers (200).

[0061] The detection device (110) can detect a user around the electronic device. For example, the detection device (110) can include a camera, a TOF sensor, a lidar sensor, a microphone, a UWB communication device, etc., and can detect a user using the above-described sensors, etc.

[0062] For example, if the sensing device (110) includes a camera, the location of the user can be determined by analyzing the area in the captured image where the user is located using the image captured by the camera. At this time, if the user is not located in the captured image, the sensing device (110) can confirm that the user is not in the preset listening area (or front) of the electronic device (100). In this case, the sensing device (110) can also use the previously confirmed location of the user to determine whether the current user is located on the left side or the right side of the electronic device.

[0063] In addition, the detection device (110) can use the image captured by the camera to determine how many users are present in front of the electronic device (100) (or a preset listening area) and in what form the multiple users are positioned.

[0064] And when the detection device (110) includes a microphone, the electronic device (100) can identify a location of sound generation other than the location of the user's speech or the sound output from the electronic device (100), and detect the user's location using the identified location.

[0065] And when the detection device (110) includes a position detection sensor such as a TOF sensor or a lidar sensor, the position detected by the sensor can be used.

[0066] And when the detection device (110) includes a UWB communication device, it can communicate with a user terminal device carried by the user, and through this, the location of each user terminal device can be identified as the user's location.

[0067] Meanwhile, although the above description describes the method of identifying the user's location using sensors, etc., provided within the electronic device (100), location information identified from a separate device or server, etc., external to the electronic device (100) may be utilized during implementation. In addition, the detection device (110) may utilize multiple sensors to comprehensively utilize information collected from multiple sensors to identify the user's location.

[0068] A plurality of speakers (200) may be spaced apart from each other on the main body of the electronic device. For example, the plurality of speakers (200) may include a first speaker located in the left area of ​​the electronic device (100) and a second speaker located in the right area. In addition, the speakers (220) may include three or more speakers. The arrangement of the case where the plurality of speakers (200) include seven speakers is specifically described in FIG. 4. As such, the electronic device of the present disclosure may use at least two speakers capable of outputting stereo audio, and may also use more than two speakers.

[0069] The audio output device (120) generates audio signals to be provided to each of a plurality of speakers. Specifically, when the audio output device (120) receives an audio signal (or audio data, content, etc.) including a plurality of channels, it can separate the received audio signal into channel units.

[0070] Here, the audio signal including multiple channels input from the audio output device (120) may be a digital signal, and the output audio signal may be a digital signal or an analog signal. Specifically, if the signal output from the audio output device (120) is directly provided to a speaker, the signal output from the audio output device (120) may be an analog signal, and if the audio signal is output through a separate external device, etc., a digital signal may be used.

[0071] The audio output device (120) may also generate a channel audio signal by mixing some of the channels among an audio signal including multiple channels. For example, when a stereo audio signal is input, the audio output device (120) may mix a left audio signal and a right audio signal to generate a mixed audio signal. In addition, when a 5.1 channel or 7.1 channel audio signal is input, the audio output device (120) may use a mixed audio signal by using an FR audio signal and an FL audio signal. Alternatively, the audio output device may downmix a 5.1 channel or 7.1 channel audio signal into a stereo audio signal, and mix the left audio signal and the right audio signal of the downmixed audio signal to generate a mixed audio signal.

[0072] At this time, the audio output device (120) may also adjust the playback band, level, gain, etc. for each generated audio signal. Such separation operations, etc. may be performed based on the currently applied channel role described below.

[0073] And the audio output device (120) provides the generated audio signal to at least one of the plurality of speakers. For example, when the current electronic device (100) is operating in the default mode (or channel role corresponding to the speaker position), the audio signal can be output based on the channel mapped to each speaker (i.e., the speaker and channel mapped to the first mapping information). For example, when using a stereo audio signal, the audio output device (120) can output a left audio signal to the left speaker and a right audio signal to the right speaker.

[0074] Meanwhile, when operating in a mode based on a user location other than the default mode, the audio output device (120) may provide a left audio signal (or a right audio signal) to at least one speaker and not provide audio signals to the remaining speakers. Here, the speaker to which the audio signal is provided may correspond to the user's location or may be a speaker adjacent to the user. If the electronic device (100) has multiple speakers on each side as illustrated in FIG. 4, the audio signals transmitted may be multiple speakers corresponding to each side.

[0075] Alternatively, the audio output device (120) may commonly provide a mixed audio signal to multiple speakers. In this case, commonly providing means providing the same channel (i.e., a mixed channel), and the audio signal provided to each speaker may have its bandwidth adjusted or its gain adjusted to suit the characteristics (or performance) of each speaker, even if it outputs the same channel. In other words, even if the audio signal provided to each speaker has a common channel, the playback bandwidth, gain, level, etc. may be different.

[0076] The processor (130) controls the overall operation of the electronic device (100). Specifically, the processor (130) is connected to each component of the electronic device (100) (e.g., the sensing device (110), the audio output device (120)) and can control the overall operation of the electronic device (100).

[0077] The processor (130) may be implemented as a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, or a time controller (TCON) that processes a digital signal. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may include one or more of a central processing unit (CPU), a micro controller unit (MCU), a micro processing unit (MPU), a controller, an application processor (AP), a graphics-processing unit (GPU), a communication processor (CP), or an ARM processor, or may be defined by the relevant term. In addition, at least one processor (130) may be implemented as a system on chip (SoC) or large scale integration (LSI) having a built-in processing algorithm, or may be implemented in the form of a field programmable gate array (FPGA). In addition, at least one processor (130) may perform various functions by executing computer executable instructions stored in a memory. Meanwhile, at least one processor (130) may be implemented as a plurality of processors (for example, a CPU + It may also include DSP).

[0078] The processor (130) can control the audio output device to generate audio signals corresponding to each speaker using mapping information for channels to be output from each of the plurality of speakers. In this case, there may be multiple mapping information. For example, the mapping information may be first mapping information generated based on the location of the speaker, or second mapping information generated based on the location of the user.

[0079] To facilitate explanation, the following description assumes that there are two speakers (e.g., a left speaker and a right speaker).

[0080] The first mapping information may include information that the left speaker outputs a left audio signal and the right speaker outputs a right audio signal.

[0081] Meanwhile, the second mapping information may include information that, depending on the user's location, if the user is positioned biased toward the left side of the electronic device, the left speaker outputs an audio signal that is a mixture of a left audio signal and a right audio signal, and the right speaker does not output an audio signal.

[0082] Alternatively, if the user is positioned biased to the right side of the electronic device, the left speaker may not output an audio signal, and the right speaker may output an audio signal that is a mixture of the left audio signal and the right audio signal.

[0083] As such, multiple second mapping information can be used, as it can contain different information depending on the user's location. Furthermore, during implementation, mapping information that assumes multiple users, rather than just a single user, may be used. This mapping information is referred to below as third mapping information.

[0084] For example, if one of the two users is positioned in front of the left speaker and the other is positioned in front of the right speaker, the third mapping information may include information that both the left speaker and the right speaker output an audio signal that is a mixture of both the left audio signal and the right audio signal.

[0085] Meanwhile, the second to third mapping information may be created in advance by the manufacturer and provided to the electronic device (100), or may be created by the user through an editing or setting operation on a user interface device or a user terminal device.

[0086] In this case, when multiple mapping information exists, the processor (130) can determine which mapping information to use when music playback, i.e., speaker operation, is required. For example, when the processor (130) determines that the user is positioned in front of the electronic device and operation in the general mode (or normal mode) is required, the processor (130) can control the audio output device (120) to output an audio signal using the first mapping information described above.

[0087] Alternatively, if the processor (130) determines that it is necessary to use the second mapping information or the third mapping information, etc., it can control the audio output device (120) so that an audio signal based on the determined mapping information is output to each speaker.

[0088] More specific operations and embodiments of the processor (130) will be described later with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10.

[0089] Meanwhile, in FIG. 2, the audio output device is illustrated and described as performing all operations of generating audio signals and outputting them to each speaker device. However, during implementation, the operations of generating the audio signals described above may be performed by the processor (130), and only the transmission to each speaker may be performed by the audio output device. In addition, the operations of the audio output device described above may be implemented in multiple configurations rather than a single configuration. An example of this will be described later in FIG. 3.

[0090] Meanwhile, in the above, only a simple configuration of the electronic device (100) is illustrated and described, but when implemented, other configurations may be additionally used in addition to the configuration described above.

[0091] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic device according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0092] Referring to FIG. 3, the electronic device (100) may include a sensing device (110), an audio output device (120), a processor (130), a plurality of speakers (200), a communication device (140), a user interface unit (150), a memory (160), and a signal processing device (170).

[0093] The configuration and operation of the detection device (110), audio output device (120), processor (130), and multiple speakers (200) have been previously described in FIG. 2. In the following, only other cases or additional embodiments not previously described in relation to the configurations will be described.

[0094] The communication device (140) is configured to connect to at least one external host device or the Internet, and can be connected wirelessly or by wire. The communication device (140) can receive content having sound from an external device. Here, the content can be audio source content or radio content including only audio signals, video content including audio signals and video signals, or game content. In addition, the content described above can be an audio signal having multiple channels, but can also be an audio signal having only one channel. In this case, the audio processing unit (175) described below can perform upmix processing to generate an audio signal having multiple channels, and perform the same operation as described above.

[0095] The communication device (140) can communicate with other speaker devices. In this case, the communication device (140) can transmit an audio signal to the other speaker devices. At this time, the communication device (140) can transmit the sound source content as is to the corresponding speaker device and provide information on the channel to be output from the corresponding speaker device among the content. Alternatively, the communication device (140) can provide an audio signal to be output from the corresponding speaker device. At this time, the communication device (140) can transmit the audio signal as is or compress and transmit it. In addition, the communication device (140) can communicate not only with one speaker device, but also with multiple speaker devices.

[0096] For example, if the electronic device (100) is a sound bar, the electronic device (100) can receive sound source content (or audio signals having multiple channels) from a display device such as a TV, and use audio signals corresponding to front channels among the received audio signals having multiple channels to operate multiple speakers, and transmit audio signals corresponding to rear channels to other speaker devices.

[0097] At this time, the communication device (140) can provide a sound source or audio signal to another speaker device using a communication method such as Bluetooth, WiFi, or WiFi Direct.

[0098] The user interface unit (150) has a number of function keys that allow the user to set or select various functions supported by the electronic device (100), and can display various information provided by the electronic device (100). The user interface unit (150) can be implemented as a device that implements input and output simultaneously, such as a touchpad, and can additionally have a separate input device, such as a mouse or keyboard.

[0099] The user interface section (150) displays a user interface window for receiving content selection from the user. The user can select content to be played through the displayed user interface window.

[0100] And the user interface unit (150) can select the mapping information to be used. Alternatively, the user interface unit (150) can also receive settings for each mapping information (e.g., the channel to be output by each speaker, etc.).

[0101] Meanwhile, during implementation, not only is the setting of the above-described mapping information and the operation of the electronic device (100) inputted using the user interface unit (150) provided in the electronic device (100), but also the setting of the operation of the electronic device and the mapping information, etc. are inputted from the user terminal device of the user, and mapping information, operation commands, etc. can be inputted through the above-described communication device (140).

[0102] The memory (160) can store data required for various embodiments. Depending on the purpose of data storage, the memory (160) may be implemented in the form of memory embedded in the electronic device (100) or may be implemented in the form of memory that can be attached or detached to the electronic device (100).

[0103] For example, data for driving an electronic device (100) may be stored in a memory embedded in the electronic device (100), and data for expanding functions of the electronic device (100) may be stored in a memory that can be attached or detached to the electronic device (100).

[0104] Meanwhile, in the case of memory embedded in the electronic device (100), it may be implemented as at least one of volatile memory (e.g., dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), or synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM)), non-volatile memory (e.g., one time programmable ROM (OTPROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable and programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), mask ROM, flash ROM, flash memory (e.g., NAND flash or NOR flash), hard drive, or solid state drive (SSD)).

[0105] In addition, in the case of a memory that can be attached or detached to an electronic device (100), it can be implemented in the form of a memory card (e.g., CF (compact flash), SD (secure digital), Micro-SD (micro secure digital), Mini-SD (mini secure digital), xD (extreme digital), MMC (multi-media card), etc.), an external memory that can be connected to a USB port (e.g., USB memory), etc.

[0106] The memory (160) may include various instructions necessary for the operation of the processor (130). In addition, the memory (160) may store a plurality of mapping information. Here, the mapping information may include first mapping information provided by the manufacturer based on the location of the speaker (i.e., the location on the electronic device), mapping information generated based on the location of the user, mapping information based on the locations of multiple users, etc. In that the output operation of the speaker may differ depending on which mapping information is used, the above-described mapping information may also be referred to as an operation mode of the electronic device or an output mode of the speaker.

[0107] The memory (160) can store various contents. Specifically, it can store contents received through a communication device (140), and can also store sound source data or audio signals generated by the contents.

[0108] The signal processing device (170) separates audio signals, video signals, etc. from a broadcast signal or content. For example, when the electronic device (100) directly receives a broadcast signal, the signal processing device (170) can transmit the separated video signal to a display device, etc., and provide the separated audio signal to the audio processing unit (175) described below. Alternatively, when receiving content in which video and audio are mixed, the signal processing device (170) can extract an audio signal within the content and provide it to the audio processing unit (175) described below.

[0109] Meanwhile, in the illustrated example, the electronic device (100) is described as directly receiving content such as a broadcast signal and separating video and audio from the input content. However, such an operation may be performed by a device other than the electronic device (100), and the electronic device (100) may also operate by receiving an audio signal separated from an external device.

[0110] At this time, the reception of the above-described broadcast content, audio signals, etc. may be input via wired (e.g., HDMI, optical fiber, etc.) or wirelessly (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.). In addition, the transmission of video signals and audio signals to other devices may also be transmitted via wired and / or wireless transmission.

[0111] The audio processing unit (175) can perform signal processing such as audio decoding on an audio signal input from a signal processing device (170) and transmit the processed audio signal to an audio output device (120). Meanwhile, in FIG. 2, the audio output device (120) is illustrated as generating and outputting an audio signal to be provided to each speaker, but when implemented, as shown in FIG. 3, the generation and output of the audio signal may be performed in a different configuration.

[0112] In addition, the audio processing unit (175) can extract a subwoofer audio signal for the signal-processed audio signal. Here, the subwoofer audio signal is an audio signal in a low-frequency range (e.g., a range of 20 Hz to 1.5 KHz) commonly included in the left audio signal and the right audio signal. The subwoofer audio signal extracted in this way can be provided to a woofer speaker performing woofer operation. That is, one of the plurality of speakers described above can be a woofer speaker that outputs a subwoofer audio signal.

[0113] The audio processing unit (175) can perform various audio processing on the input audio signal. For example, the audio processing unit (175) can perform up-mix processing to convert a single-channel audio signal into an audio signal of multiple channels, or down-mix processing to convert an audio signal exceeding two channels into an audio signal of two surround channels. In addition, the audio processing unit (175) can perform various signal processing related to audio signals, such as sound field processing, level change, and gain change on the input audio content (or each audio signal), in addition to changing the number of channels as described above.

[0114] Meanwhile, the following describes the operation of the processor (130) when the electronic device (100) operates not independently but in conjunction with a separate speaker device. For example, such operation is related to the embodiments described in FIGS. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 described below.

[0115] In this way, when the electronic device (100) operates in conjunction with another speaker device, the processor (130) can use mapping information to determine the channel to be output from each of the multiple speakers as well as from the other connected speaker devices.

[0116] For example, if it is determined that only one of the plurality of speakers and one speaker device is in operation, the processor (130) can control the audio output device (120) so that an audio signal of a first channel of the plurality of channels is output from the determined speaker, and can control the communication device so that an audio signal of a second channel of the plurality of channels is output from the speaker device.

[0117] For example, if the input audio signal is a stereo audio signal having two channels, the processor (130) can control the audio output device (120) and the communication device (140) to output a left audio signal to one speaker and to output a right audio signal to one speaker device. That is, the processor (130) can identify a speaker and a speaker device corresponding to the user's location, control the audio output device (120) to output a left audio signal to the identified speaker, and control the communication device (140) to output a right audio signal to the identified speaker device.

[0118] At this time, the processor (130) may control the communication device so that data corresponding to the audio signal of the second channel is transmitted, or control the communication device (140) so that data corresponding to the audio signals of multiple channels and information on channels output from among the multiple channels are transmitted. In addition, the data corresponding to the audio signal described above may be provided by a device other than the electronic device (100) (e.g., a server or TV), and the electronic device (100) may only provide information such as the channel to be output from the corresponding speaker device, the sound size, etc.

[0119] Alternatively, the processor (130) may set at least one first speaker and the speaker device among the plurality of speakers as one speaker group based on the position of the speaker device, control the audio output device (120) so that the first speaker outputs an audio signal of a first channel among the plurality of channels, and control the communication device (140) so that the speaker device outputs an audio signal of a second channel among the plurality of channels.

[0120] At this time, the processor (130) may control the audio output device so that the remaining speakers that do not belong to a speaker group among the plurality of speakers output an audio signal in which audio signals of multiple channels are mixed. At this time, there may be one speaker group or there may be multiple speaker groups.

[0121] In addition, if the processor (130) determines that the location of the user detected by the detection device is spaced apart from the electronic device (100) and adjacent to the first speaker device and the second speaker device, the processor (130) may control the communication device (140) so that the first speaker device outputs an audio signal of a first channel among a plurality of channels, and the second speaker device outputs an audio signal of a second channel among a plurality of channels. At this time, the processor (130) may control the audio output device (120) so that the speaker within the electronic device (100) does not output sound.

[0122] As described above, the electronic device (100) according to the present embodiment can output sound not only by having each speaker output an audio signal of a channel mapped according to the speaker position, but also by outputting sound according to the user's position and in various ways.

[0123] Although FIG. 3 illustrates a case in which additional configurations not illustrated in FIG. 2 are included, some of the configurations added to FIG. 3 may be omitted during implementation. Furthermore, other configurations not illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 may be added during implementation.

[0124] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of arrangement of a plurality of speakers according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0125] Referring to FIG. 4, the electronic device (100) includes seven speakers. Although the illustrated example only shows a case with seven speakers, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the operation of the present disclosure can be applied to any case with at least two speakers.

[0126] The first speaker (201) is a speaker placed in the center of the electronic device (100). This first speaker (201) may be referred to as a center speaker, and may output a center channel (i.e., an audio signal in which a left audio signal and a right audio signal are mixed, or a voice area) in normal mode (when using the first mapping information).

[0127] The second speaker (202) is a speaker positioned on the right side of the electronic device (100) toward the front of the electronic device (100), and may be referred to as an FR speaker. This second speaker (202) can output a right channel (i.e., a right audio signal) in normal mode (when using the first mapping information).

[0128] The third speaker (203) is a speaker positioned on the left side of the electronic device (100) toward the front of the electronic device (100), and may be referred to as an FL speaker. This third speaker (203) can output a left channel (i.e., a left audio signal) in normal mode (when using the first mapping information).

[0129] The fourth speaker (204) is a speaker positioned on the right side of the electronic device (100) toward the side of the electronic device (100), and may be referred to as an SR speaker. This fourth speaker (204) can output a right channel (i.e., a right audio signal) in normal mode (when using the first mapping information). In addition, the fourth speaker (204) can output a specific audio component among the right channels. For example, a sound output from the fourth speaker (204) can be heard by the user after hitting a wall or the like, and this sound provides the user with a three-dimensional effect. And the sound that provides this three-dimensional effect is usually an ambient sound, which may be an audio component from the right audio signal from which a voice component or the like is excluded.

[0130] The fifth speaker (205) is a speaker positioned on the left side of the electronic device (100) toward the side of the electronic device (100), and may be referred to as an SL speaker. This fifth speaker (205) can output a left channel (i.e., a left audio signal) in normal mode (when using the first mapping information). In addition, the fifth speaker (205) can output a specific audio component (e.g., an ambient component) among the left channels.

[0131] The sixth speaker (206) is arranged on the right side of the electronic device (100) and is a speaker arranged in an upward direction of the electronic device (100), and may be referred to as a TR speaker. This sixth speaker (206) can output a right channel (i.e., a right audio signal) in normal mode (when using the first mapping information). At this time, the sixth speaker (206) can output a specific audio component (e.g., an ambient component) among the right channels.

[0132] The seventh speaker (207) is a speaker positioned from the left side of the electronic device (100) toward the top of the electronic device (100), and may be referred to as a TL speaker. This seventh speaker (207) can output a left channel (i.e., a right audio signal) in normal mode (when using the first mapping information). At this time, the seventh speaker (206) can output a specific audio component (e.g., an ambient component) among the right channels.

[0133] Although the information on the channels output from each speaker has been described above, the audio signals used by each speaker may be different during implementation. For example, although the second speaker (202), the fourth speaker (204), and the sixth speaker (206) have been described as each outputting sound using the right audio signal, the audio signals provided to each speaker may differ in terms of playback bandwidth, level, gain characteristics, etc. In addition, the third speaker (203), the fifth speaker (205), and the seventh speaker (207), which use the left audio signal, may also differ in terms of playback bandwidth, level, gain characteristics, etc.

[0134] Additionally, in non-normal mode, instead of using mapping information (or channel roles) based on the location of each speaker, a mapping method corresponding to the user's location or selection may be applied.

[0135] For example, if the user is positioned with a bias toward the left, the device may operate using only the speakers positioned on the left (e.g., the third speaker (203), the fifth speaker (205), the seventh speaker (207)), or conversely, if the user is positioned with a bias toward the right, the device may operate using only the speakers positioned on the right (202, 204, 206).

[0136] Meanwhile, in the implementation, in addition to the speakers that perform the above-described operations, other speakers may also be implemented to output sound. In this case, the remaining speakers may output audio signals based on mapping information (i.e., channel role) based on the positions of the speakers and other mapping information. For example, when the user is positioned on the left and outputs audio of the main channel using the third speaker (203), the fifth speaker (205), and the seventh speaker (207), the second speaker (202), the fourth speaker (204), and the sixth speaker (206) may output additional channels (rear, surround) or output mixed ambient audio signals.

[0137] Additionally, in cases where multiple users are located, the electronic device (100) may provide audio signals in which both left and right channels are mixed to each speaker, or may group each speaker and new speakers into a new group and output audio signals of different channels for each group. Various operations of the electronic device (100) are described below with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10.

[0138] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of channel mapping according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 5 illustrates an example in which multiple users listen to sound.

[0139] Referring to FIG. 5, it can be confirmed that multiple users exist in the space where the electronic device (100) is located, and that the multiple users are positioned spaced apart from each other. In this case, if the multiple users are not clustered in front of the electronic device (100) but are positioned spaced apart from each other, only the users positioned in front of the electronic device (100) can hear three-dimensional sound, and users not positioned in front may have difficulty hearing three-dimensional sound. Alternatively, the user may want multiple users to hear sound of the same quality rather than hearing sound with a three-dimensional effect.

[0140] In such an environment, when the electronic device (100) detects that multiple users are spaced apart as shown, or receives an operation command to enter party mode from a user, each speaker can output an audio signal of the same channel (e.g., a channel in which the left audio channel and the right audio channel are mixed).

[0141] In this way, the mode in which the same channel is output from each speaker can be referred to as a party mode, and the above-described party mode can be referred to by various expressions such as a common mode, a same-channel mode, etc.

[0142] At this time, the electronic device (100) may use the same channel, but may individually control the size and bandwidth of the sound output from each speaker by taking into account the location of each speaker and each user.

[0143] For example, if the distance between a user located in the center and the speaker is close, but the distance between a user located in the periphery and the electronic device is far, the sound output from the right or left speaker can be made louder than the sound output from the center.

[0144] In this way, multiple speakers output the main channel without distinguishing between the main channel and surround channel, so that all users can hear the sound in a balanced manner.

[0145] Meanwhile, although the electronic device (100) is described and illustrated as controlling only a plurality of internal speakers, the electronic device (100) may also control external speaker devices. Such an embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

[0146] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of channel mapping according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 6 illustrates an example in which multiple users listen to sound.

[0147] Referring to FIG. 6, it can be confirmed that two speaker devices (310, 320) are additionally positioned outside the electronic device (100) in the space where the electronic device (100) is placed.

[0148] These two speaker devices (310, 320) are speaker devices that are physically separated from the electronic device (100) and, in normal mode, may be devices that receive and output sound sources or audio signals from the electronic device (100). That is, the electronic device (100) and the two speaker devices (310, 320) may operate as a single home theater. Meanwhile, in the illustrated example, only two speaker devices are shown added, but three or more speaker devices may be added during implementation.

[0149] In this way, in an environment where an electronic device (100) and a plurality of speaker devices (310, 320) exist, when operating in a general channel role, the electronic device (100) can output an audio signal corresponding to a rear channel among audio signals having a plurality of channels from the plurality of speaker devices (310, 320).

[0150] However, as in the example shown, when multiple users are spaced apart within the space, it is difficult for all of the multiple users to hear the same sound.

[0151] Accordingly, when multiple users are positioned spaced apart or based on a user's command, the electronic device (100) can cause multiple speakers and multiple speaker devices to output the same channel.

[0152] Meanwhile, although the electronic device (100) and speaker devices (310, 320) have been described above as using audio signals of the same channel, the audio signals themselves provided may differ depending on the characteristics of each speaker device and / or speaker. That is, even when using the same channel, the audio signals provided to each speaker and / or speaker device may differ in at least one of the reproduction band, gain, and level.

[0153] Meanwhile, while the above described embodiment in which multiple speakers and multiple speaker devices utilize audio signals of the same channel, it is also possible to control multiple speakers and multiple speaker devices to locally output surround audio signals during implementation. Such an embodiment is described in FIG. 7 below.

[0154] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of channel mapping according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 7 illustrates an example in which multiple users listen to sound.

[0155] Referring to FIG. 7, it can be confirmed that a speaker group is set for a plurality of speakers and speaker devices (310, 320) within the electronic device (100).

[0156] For example, the electronic device (100) may be configured with a left speaker and a left speaker device (310) as a first group. In this case, the electronic device (100) may allow the left speaker to output a left audio signal and the left speaker device (310) to output a right audio signal. In this case, users positioned on the left side may hear surround sound. In addition, during implementation, the left speaker may output a right audio signal and the left speaker device (310) may output a left audio signal.

[0157] At this time, the electronic device (100) sets the left speaker and the left speaker device (310) as one group to output a surround audio signal, so that the level between the two speakers can be the same.

[0158] For example, when operating in a general channel role, a speaker device located at the rear may be set to output sound at a lower volume than a speaker located at the front. However, if the left speaker and the left speaker device (310) in a new group operate at different volumes, it may be difficult for a user in the space to feel a three-dimensional effect. Therefore, the electronic device (100) may enable multiple speakers within a single group to operate with similar characteristics (e.g., playback band, level, gain).

[0159] And the electronic device (100) can configure the right speaker and the right speaker device (320) as a separate second group. In this case, the electronic device (100) can make the right speaker output a right audio signal and the right speaker device (320) output a left audio signal. In this case, a user located on the right side can listen to stereo sound. On the other hand, during implementation, the right speaker can output a left audio signal and the right speaker device (320) can output a right audio signal.

[0160] And speakers that do not belong to the group (e.g., a center speaker) can output an audio signal that is a mixture of the left audio signal and the right audio signal.

[0161] Meanwhile, in order to facilitate explanation, the operation in the case where an audio signal of a stereo channel consisting of two channels is input has been described above, but even in the case where an audio signal of 3.1 channels, 5.1 channels, 7.1 channels, etc. is input, the electronic device (100) can downmix an audio signal exceeding the above-described two channels into a stereo channel of two channels and operate as described above.

[0162] In addition, in the above, for the sake of ease of explanation, it was explained that multiple speakers output sound using a mixed audio signal, or one of the left audio signal and the right audio signal.

[0163] However, among the speakers or speaker devices of the electronic device (100), a speaker for a specific purpose may operate without being affected by the above-described mapping. For example, since a woofer speaker is hardly affected by its position, even if the above-described mapping is performed for a specific speaker, an operation based on a general channel role may be performed for the woofer speaker.

[0164] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of channel mapping according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, referring to FIG. 8, an example of channel mapping is illustrated in a case where multiple speaker devices (310, 320) can operate in conjunction with an electronic device.

[0165] Referring to FIG. 8, it can be seen that an electronic device (100) is placed in front of the user, and multiple speaker devices (310, 320) are placed on the side or back of the user.

[0166] Such multiple speaker devices (310, 320) may be speaker devices that, in normal mode, receive audio signals from the electronic device (100) and configure 5.1 channels or 7.1 channels to output rear audio signals.

[0167] In this form, when the user selects a minimum disturbance mode or the like, or when the user is positioned closer to multiple speaker devices (310, 320) than the electronic device (100), the electronic device (100) can prevent the multiple speaker devices inside from outputting sound and operate only the first speaker device (310) and the second speaker device (320) adjacent to the user.

[0168] For example, the electronic device (100) can output a left audio signal from the first speaker device (310) and a right audio signal from the second speaker device (320). In other words, sound can be output only from speakers adjacent to the user.

[0169] In this way, when the user is closer to the first speaker device and the second speaker device, the rule of the main speaker is changed to the first speaker device (310) and the second speaker device (320) rather than the speaker within the electronic device (100), thereby enabling the dialogue and main sound to be delivered to the user more clearly.

[0170] Alternatively, the electronic device (100) may maintain the operation of the first speaker device (310) and the second speaker device (320) in the form described above, but the plurality of speakers within the electronic device (100) may output only the ambient component from the input audio signal.

[0171] Such actions may be performed when the user selects a minimal disturbance mode, or when sound output is performed at a preset time.

[0172] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of channel mapping according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 9 illustrates an example of channel mapping in a case where multiple speaker devices (310, 320) can operate in conjunction with an electronic device.

[0173] The operation of the electronic device and the plurality of speaker devices (310, 320) of Fig. 9 is the same as that of Fig. 8. However, as shown, it is assumed that the user listens to sound from a position biased to the left.

[0174] In this way, when the user is positioned with a bias toward the left, the electronic device (100) can output sound using the speaker positioned on the left and the first speaker device (310). For example, an audio signal in which the same left audio signal and right audio signal are mixed can be output to the left speaker and the first speaker device (310).

[0175] Alternatively, the electronic device (100) may output a left audio signal using the left speaker of the electronic device (100) and control the first speaker device (310) to output a right audio signal. Or, conversely, the electronic device (100) may output a right audio signal using the left speaker of the electronic device (100) and control the first speaker device (310) to output a left audio signal.

[0176] Meanwhile, in the embodiment of FIG. 9, sound is output only using the speaker positioned on the left corresponding to the user's position and the first speaker device (310), but when implemented, other speakers within the electronic device (100) may also output sound. For example, other speakers may output additional channels (rear, surround) or mixed ambient audio signals.

[0177] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of channel mapping according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 10 illustrates an example of channel mapping in a case where multiple speaker devices (310, 320, 330) can operate in conjunction with an electronic device.

[0178] It can be seen that Fig. 10, unlike Fig. 9, further includes an additional third speaker device (330). Here, the third speaker device (330) is not a device that is typically linked with the electronic device (100) to output audio signals such as 5.1 channels or 7.1 channels, but may be a speaker device that temporarily operates in conjunction with the electronic device (100) only at the present time. For example, the third speaker device (330) may be a Bluetooth speaker or an AI speaker.

[0179] In this way, when the user is adjacent to the third speaker device (330) and spaced apart from the first and third speaker devices (310, 320), the electronic device (100) can output sound using the speaker positioned on the left and the third speaker device (330). For example, the electronic device (100) can output an audio signal in which the same left audio signal and right audio signal are mixed to the left speaker and the first speaker device (330).

[0180] Alternatively, the electronic device (100) may output a left audio signal using the left speaker of the electronic device (100) and control the third speaker device (330) to output a right audio signal. Or conversely, the electronic device (100) may output a right audio signal using the left speaker of the electronic device (100) and control the third speaker device (330) to output a left audio signal.

[0181] At this time, the electronic device (100) can acquire sound characteristic information of the third speaker device (330) so that the sound output of the left speaker of the electronic device (100) and the third speaker device (330) can be uniform, and based on the acquired sound characteristic information, the speaker in the electronic device (100) and the third speaker device (330) can operate with similar sound characteristics.

[0182] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a control method in an electronic device according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0183] Referring to Figure 11, the electronic device detects users around the electronic device (S1110). This detection can be accomplished using sound, image analysis, lidar signals, or other methods. Furthermore, this detection can utilize not only sensors within the electronic device (100), but also information detected from an external device.

[0184] The electronic device then generates an audio signal to be provided to each of the plurality of speakers using mapping information for the channels to be output from each of the plurality of speakers (S1120). For example, the electronic device may generate an audio signal to be provided to each speaker using mapping information, either first mapping information provided based on the locations of the plurality of speakers or second mapping information provided based on the location of the user, based on the detected location of the user.

[0185] For example, if the user's position detected by the sensing device is in front of the electronic device (or in normal mode), the first mapping information can be used to generate an audio signal.

[0186] And the electronic device can generate an audio signal using the second mapping information that outputs the audio signal only from a speaker adjacent to the user's location if the user is not detected in front of the electronic device.

[0187] For example, if the electronic device includes a first speaker located on the left and a second speaker located on the right, the electronic device may generate a left audio signal and a right audio signal using a stereo audio signal when the detected user's location is in a preset listening area (or in front of the electronic device), and if the location is in a side area outside the preset listening area (e.g., a left outer area or a right outer area), the electronic device may generate an audio signal in which the left audio signal and the right audio signal are mixed.

[0188] And the electronic device outputs the generated audio signal to at least one of the plurality of speakers (S1130). For example, if the electronic device includes a first speaker located on the left and a second speaker located on the right, if the location of the user detected by the sensing device is in a preset listening area (or the front of the electronic device), the electronic device may output a left audio signal to the first speaker, output a right audio signal to the second speaker, and if the location of the user detected is in the left outer area of ​​the electronic device, output a mixed audio signal only to the first speaker.

[0189] Various embodiments of the present disclosure describe speakers, components, user locations, and the like as being "close" to other speakers, components, user locations, and the like. "Close" here may indicate that the speakers, components, user locations, and the like are located within a predetermined range.

[0190] Output methods such as these are examples, and various forms can be used depending on various usage cases, not just speaker locations.

[0191] Meanwhile, the methods according to at least some of the various embodiments of the present disclosure described above may be implemented in the form of an application that can be installed on an existing electronic device.

[0192] Additionally, the methods according to at least some of the various embodiments of the present disclosure described above can be implemented with only a software upgrade or a hardware upgrade for an existing electronic device.

[0193] Additionally, the methods according to at least some of the various embodiments of the present disclosure described above may also be performed through an embedded server provided in an electronic device, or an external server of at least one of the electronic devices.

[0194] Meanwhile, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the various embodiments described above may be implemented as software including instructions stored in a machine-readable storage medium that can be read by a machine (e.g., a computer). The machine may include an electronic device (e.g., an electronic device (A)) according to the disclosed embodiments, which is a device that can call instructions stored from the storage medium and operate according to the called instructions. When an instruction is executed by a processor, the processor may perform a function corresponding to the instruction directly or by using other components under the control of the processor. The instruction may include code generated or executed by a compiler or an interpreter. The machine-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Here, the 'non-transitory storage medium' only means that it is a tangible device and does not include a signal (e.g., an electromagnetic wave), and this term does not distinguish between cases where data is stored semi-permanently and cases where it is temporarily stored in the storage medium. No. For example, a 'non-transitory storage medium' may include a buffer in which data is temporarily stored. According to one or more embodiments, a method according to various embodiments disclosed in the present document may be provided as a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded between sellers and buyers as a commodity. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)) or may be downloaded from an application store (e.g., Play Store). TM) or directly between two user devices (e.g., smartphones), online distribution (e.g., downloading or uploading). In the case of online distribution, at least a portion of the computer program product (e.g., downloadable app) may be at least temporarily stored or temporarily created in a device-readable storage medium, such as the memory of a manufacturer's server, an application store's server, or an intermediary server.

[0195] Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented as software including instructions stored in a machine-readable storage medium that can be read by a machine (e.g., a computer). The device may include an electronic device (e.g., an electronic device (100)) according to the disclosed embodiments, which is a device capable of calling instructions stored in the storage medium and operating according to the called instructions.

[0196] When the above-described instruction is executed by the processor, the processor may perform the function corresponding to the instruction directly or by utilizing other components under the control of the processor. The instruction may include code generated or executed by a compiler or interpreter.

[0197] Although the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and various modifications may be made by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from the gist of the present disclosure as claimed in the claims, and such modifications should not be understood individually from the technical idea or prospect of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. In electronic devices, A sensing device for detecting at least one user location; A plurality of speakers spaced apart from each other; An audio output device for generating an audio signal; and Based on at least one user location detected by the above detection device, mapping information for outputting at least one channel through a plurality of speakers based on the locations of the plurality of speakers or mapping information for outputting at least one channel through at least one speaker among the plurality of speakers is selected. Generate at least one audio signal for output from at least one speaker among the plurality of speakers based on the selected mapping information, To provide the generated at least one audio signal to the determined at least one speaker, so that the generated at least one audio signal is output through the determined at least one speaker, An electronic device comprising a processor controlling the audio output device.

2. In paragraph 1, The above processor, If at least one user position detected by the above detection device is a preset listening area, the audio output device is controlled using mapping information that maps at least one channel to be output through a plurality of speakers based on the positions of the plurality of speakers, An electronic device that controls the audio output device by using mapping information that maps at least one channel through at least one speaker corresponding to at least one user position detected by the sensing device among the plurality of speakers, if at least one user position detected by the sensing device is not in the preset listening area.

3. In paragraph 2, The above processor, If at least one user location detected by the above sensing device is not within the preset listening area, Based on the selected mapping information, a mixed audio signal to be output from a speaker corresponding to at least one user location detected by the detection device among the plurality of speakers is generated, and the audio output device is controlled so that the mixed audio signal is provided to the speaker corresponding to at least one user location detected by the detection device. An electronic device that controls the audio output device so as not to output audio signals to the remaining speakers among the plurality of speakers.

4. In paragraph 2, The plurality of speakers include a first speaker located on the left side of the electronic device and a second speaker located on the right side of the electronic device, The above processor, If at least one user position detected by the above detection device is a preset listening area, generate an audio signal of a left channel to be output from the first speaker, output the generated audio signal of the left channel to the first speaker, generate an audio signal of a right channel to be output from the second speaker, and output the generated audio signal of the right channel to the second speaker. If at least one user location detected by the above detection device is in the outer left area of ​​the preset listening area, An electronic device that generates an audio signal by mixing an audio signal of the left channel and an audio signal of the right channel for output from the first speaker, outputs an audio signal by mixing the audio signal of the left channel and the audio signal of the right channel to the first speaker, and controls the audio output device so that the second speaker does not output sound.

5. In paragraph 2, Further comprising a communication device for performing communication with a speaker device located outside the electronic device; The above processor, Based on at least one user location detected by said sensing device being outside said preset listening area, Generate an audio signal of a first channel to be output from a speaker corresponding to at least one user position detected by the detection device among the plurality of speakers, and control the audio output device so that the generated audio signal of the first channel is output to the speaker corresponding to at least one user position detected by the detection device. An electronic device that generates a second channel audio signal to be output from the speaker device, and controls the audio output device so that the generated second channel audio signal is output to the speaker device through the communication device.

6. In paragraph 5, The above processor, An electronic device that controls the communication device so that data corresponding to the audio signal of the second channel generated above is transmitted to the speaker device.

7. In paragraph 1, The at least one user location detected by the above detection device includes a plurality of user locations, The above processor, Based on the plurality of user locations detected by the sensing device, mapping information for mapping at least one speaker and at least one channel among the plurality of speakers is selected based on at least one user location detected by the sensing device, An electronic device that controls the audio output device so that each of the plurality of speakers generates an audio signal in which a plurality of channels are mixed based on the selected mapping information, and so that each of the plurality of speakers outputs the generated mixed audio signal.

8. In paragraph 1, Further comprising a communication device for performing communication with a speaker device located outside the electronic device; The above processor, Based on the location of the speaker device, at least one first speaker among the plurality of speakers and the speaker device are set as one speaker group, Generating an audio signal of a first channel output from at least one first speaker, and outputting the generated audio signal of the first channel to the at least one first speaker, Generating a second channel audio signal to be output through the speaker device, and outputting the generated second channel audio signal to the speaker device through the communication device, Generate an audio signal mixed with the first channel and the second channel, which is output through the remaining speakers that do not belong to the speaker group among the plurality of speakers, An electronic device that controls the audio output device to output the generated mixed audio signal to the remaining speakers.

9. In paragraph 1, Further comprising a communication device for performing communication with each of the first speaker device and the second speaker device located outside the electronic device; The above processor, At least one user location detected by the sensing device is located at a distance from the electronic device and is adjacent to the first speaker device and the second speaker device, An electronic device that generates an audio signal of a first channel to be output from the first speaker device, outputs the generated audio signal of the first channel to the first speaker device through the communication device, generates an audio signal of a second channel to be output from the second speaker device, and controls the audio output device so that the generated audio signal of the second channel is output to the second speaker device through the communication device.

10. In paragraph 9, The above processor, An electronic device that controls the audio output device so that the plurality of speakers do not output sound based on at least one user location detected by the sensing device being adjacent to the first speaker device and the second speaker device at a distance from the electronic device.

11. In paragraph 1, Each of mapping information for mapping at least one channel to be output through a plurality of speakers based on the positions of the plurality of speakers and mapping information for mapping at least one channel to be output through at least one speaker among the plurality of speakers based on at least one user position detected by the detection device, An electronic device further including at least one of reproduction band information, level information, and gain characteristics to be output from each of the plurality of speakers.

12. In paragraph 1, The above detection device, An electronic device including at least one of a microphone for detecting a user's location based on a user's speech location, a camera, a UWB communication device for communicating with a user terminal device, and a lidar sensor.

13. A method for controlling an electronic device including a sensing device for detecting at least one user position, a plurality of speakers spaced apart from each other, and an audio output device for generating an audio signal, Based on at least one user location detected by the above detection device, mapping information for outputting at least one channel through a plurality of speakers based on the locations of the plurality of speakers or mapping information for outputting at least one channel through at least one speaker among the plurality of speakers is selected. Generate at least one audio signal for output from at least one speaker among the plurality of speakers based on the selected mapping information, To provide the generated at least one audio signal to the determined at least one speaker, so that the generated at least one audio signal is output through the determined at least one speaker, A control method comprising the step of controlling the above audio output device.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing a method of controlling an electronic device including a sensing device for detecting at least one user position, a plurality of speakers spaced apart from each other, and an audio output device for generating an audio signal, The above control method is, Based on at least one user location detected by the above detection device, mapping information for outputting at least one channel through a plurality of speakers based on the locations of the plurality of speakers or mapping information for outputting at least one channel through at least one speaker among the plurality of speakers is selected. Generate at least one audio signal for output from at least one speaker among the plurality of speakers based on the selected mapping information, To provide the generated at least one audio signal to the determined at least one speaker, so that the generated at least one audio signal is output through the determined at least one speaker, A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium comprising a step of controlling the above audio output device.

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