JP2009077200A - Voice communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide voice communication equipment which does not pick up noise generated by operating a self-equipment. <P>SOLUTION: The voice communication equipment 6 consists of a sound-producing and pick-up equipment 1 and a PC 2 equipped with a communication function, and the sound-producing and pick-up equipment 1 and the PC 2 are connected by a USB cable 300. The sound-producing and pick-up equipment 1 consists of a main chassis 10, and sub chassis 11, 12 which are turnable to the main chassis 10. When performing voice communications between bases using the voice communication equipment 6, if the increasing or decreasing of the number of presence person, and the change of seating position etc. occur, a user 900 changes the sound pick-up region by changing the arrangement position of the sound-producing and pick-up equipment 1 and the turning amount of the sub chassis 11, 12 with regard to the main chassis 10. When changing the sound pick-up region, the sound-producing and pick-up equipment 1 mutes a mike to stop the output of sound pick-up signal for output. Accordingly, the voice communication equipment 6 does not transmit noise generated when the user 900 moves the sound-producing and pick-up equipment 1 to a destination. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a voice communication apparatus that does not transmit noise collected during its own behavior to a partner apparatus.

Conventionally, a voice communication device includes a microphone, a speaker, and communication means, and is used for a conference held between remote locations. For example, when voice communication is performed by two voice communication devices, one voice communication device transmits a voice signal picked up by a microphone to the other voice communication device via a communication unit. The other voice communication device emits the received voice signal from the speaker. As such a voice communication device, for example, there is a hands-free call device as shown in Patent Document 1. The microphone of the hands-free communication device of Patent Document 1 is arranged with the front side of its own device as the sound collection direction, and collects sound from the front direction of the device.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-223274

  However, when voice communication is performed by multiple people using this hands-free call device, the direction of sound collection is one direction, so whenever the speaker is changed, the speaker moves in the direction of sound collection of the microphone. Or, it is necessary to move the hands-free communication device so that the microphone is directed toward the speaker. In this case, since it is usually troublesome for the speaker to move, the hands-free call device is moved to point the microphone toward the speaker. At this time, there is a problem that the microphone collects noise generated when the hands-free communication device is moved.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a voice communication device that does not pick up noise generated when a device having a microphone installed therein is moved.

  The present invention comprises sound collection means that is installed in a case and collects sound from a predetermined area and generates and outputs a sound collection signal, and behavior detection means that detects the behavior of the case, and The sound means is characterized in that the output of the sound pickup signal is stopped while the behavior detection means detects the behavior of the housing.

  In this configuration, the voice communication device stops collecting sound while detecting the behavior (movement or rotation) of the housing including the sound collecting means. As a result, the voice communication device does not pick up noise caused by the behavior of the casing and does not transmit the noise to the voice communication partner, so that the voice communication device of the voice communication partner does not emit the noise. . For this reason, since the voice communication device does not let the voice communication partner user hear the noise caused by the behavior of the casing, it does not make the voice communication partner user uncomfortable.

  In the present invention, when the behavior detection unit detects the behavior of the casing, the behavior detection unit calculates a measurement value based on at least one of the behavior amount and behavior time of the casing, and the sound collection unit When the measured value calculated by the behavior detecting means is greater than or equal to a threshold value, the output of the collected sound signal is stopped, and when the measured value is less than the threshold value, the collected sound signal is output.

  In this configuration, when detecting the behavior of the casing, the voice communication device calculates a measurement value based on at least one of the behavior amount and the behavior time. The voice communication device stops collecting sound while the calculated measurement value is equal to or greater than the threshold value. Thereby, the voice communication apparatus can stop collecting sound only when noise is likely to occur. For example, sound collection can be stopped only when the amount of behavior is large, or sound collection can be stopped only when the behavior time is long. As a result, the noise can be effectively removed by making the sound collection stop time for removing the noise as short as possible.

  Further, according to the present invention, the casing is composed of a plurality of casings that are rotatably connected to each other, and the behavior detecting means detects the rotation of any one of the plurality of casings as the behavior. It detects as.

  In this configuration, the voice communication device includes a plurality of casings that are rotatably connected to each other. When detecting the rotation of the housing, the voice communication device calculates a measurement value based on at least one of a rotation amount and a rotation time of the housing (a time length during which the rotation of the housing is detected), for example. As a result, even if the number of users increases or the user moves the seat and the sound collecting area is changed by rotating the housing of the voice communication device, noise generated by the rotation of the housing is reduced. Does not pick up sound. For this reason, the voice communication apparatus can change the sound collection area without collecting noise.

  In addition, the present invention is further characterized by further comprising notification means for notifying the sound collection signal output stop of the sound collection means.

  In this configuration, when the sound communication is stopped, the sound communication device displays on the display screen that the sound collection is stopped, lights and blinks the operation element, emits the sound collection stop sound, Announcement sound indicating that sound collection is stopped is emitted. Thereby, the voice communication apparatus can notify the user that sound collection is stopped.

  The present invention is further characterized by further comprising external output means for outputting a sound collection stop signal for notifying the sound collection signal output stop of the sound collection means to the outside.

  In this configuration, when the sound communication device stops collecting sound, the sound communication device outputs a sound collecting stop signal that notifies the sound collecting stop. Thereby, the voice communication apparatus can inform the user of the voice communication partner that sound collection is stopped.

  According to the present invention, the voice communication device stops collecting sound while detecting the behavior of the own device. As a result, noise generated by moving the voice communication device can be prevented from being collected. As a result, the voice communication device does not let the voice communication partner user hear the noise caused by the behavior of the casing, and therefore does not make the voice communication partner user uncomfortable.

  An outline of voice communication using the voice communication device 6 (6a, 6b) according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a state in which voice communication between bases is performed using two voice communication apparatuses. As shown in FIG. 1, the voice communication device 6a installed at the site 5a is connected to the voice communication device 6b installed at the site 5b via the network 400. These voice communication devices 6a and 6b have the same configuration. For example, the voice communication device 6a includes a sound emission / collection function device 1a having a sound emission / collection function and a PC 2a having a communication function. The functional device 1a and the PC 2a are connected by a USB cable 300a. The sound emission / collection function device 1 a includes a main housing 10 and sub-housings 11 and 12 that are rotatable with respect to the main housing 10. By using such voice communication devices 6a and 6b, the users 900 to 902 who are present at the base 5a and the users 903 who are present at the base 5b perform voice communication.

  When performing voice communication using such a voice communication system, for example, if the number of seats increases or decreases or the seating position is changed at the base 5a, the user 900 can change the arrangement position of the sound emission and collection function device 1a, The sound collection area is changed by changing the amount of rotation of the sub-housings 11 and 12 relative to the body 10. When changing the sound collection area, the sound emission / collection function device 1a detects the behavior of the device itself, mutes the microphone, and stops outputting the output sound collection signal. Thereby, the voice communication device 6a can prevent transmission of noise generated when the user 900 moves the sound emission and collection function device 1a. Since the voice communication device 6b arranged at the base 5b does not receive this noise, it does not emit the noise and does not make the user 903 uncomfortable.

  Next, the function and configuration of the voice communication device 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a plan view in the basic posture of the sound emission and collection function device of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a voice communication apparatus including a sound emission / collection function apparatus according to the present embodiment and a PC. The voice communication devices 6a and 6b have the same configuration and will be described as the voice communication device 6. The voice communication device 6 includes a sound emission / collection function device 1 that mainly performs sound emission, sound collection, and behavior detection, and a PC 2 that mainly performs voice communication with a network or the like.

  Further, the behavior of the sound emission and collection function device 1 is, for example, the rotation of the sub-housings 11 and 12 with respect to the main housing 10 or the operation of the own device itself that occurs when the sound collection area is changed. Or Hereinafter, as an example of behavior detection, rotation detection of the sub-housings 11 and 12 with respect to the main housing 10 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the sound emission and collection function device 1 is mechanically composed of a main housing 10 and two sub-housings 11 and 12 installed so as to be rotatable with respect to the main housing 10. Composed. In the following description, the number of microphones MIC installed in each of the main housing 10 and the sub-housings 11 and 12 is four, and the number of speakers SP installed in the main housing 10 is two. The number of microphones MIC and the number of speakers SP may be set as appropriate according to the specifications.

  The main housing 10 has a substantially triangular shape in plan view, and has a thickness that allows the microphone MIC to be installed along the side wall. The main housing 10 has three side walls, and the four microphones MIC are arranged in a direction facing outward from the front side walls inside the front side walls (the side walls having the wall surfaces in the lower direction in FIG. 2). It is installed as a sound direction. The four microphones MIC are arranged in parallel to the front side wall at a predetermined interval, and the four microphones MIC constitute a microphone array 1160 that has a sound collection area outward from the front side wall.

  On the upper surface of the main housing 10 (surface viewed in plan in FIG. 2), an operation unit 115 including a plurality of operation elements is installed. The plurality of controls are arranged in parallel to the front side wall as shown in FIG. Here, the plurality of operators are, for example, an operator that accepts the start / end of sound emission, an operator that accepts activation of a preset PC application, an operator that accepts volume adjustment of the emitted sound, a microphone, An operator or the like that accepts mute.

  Two speakers SP are installed in the vicinity of the approximate center of the triangle in plan view of the main housing 10 at a distance parallel to the front side wall and capable of stereo speaker control. Further, the region other than the operation unit 115 on the upper surface wall of the main housing 10 and the front side wall are meshed. Although not shown in the figure, the input / output I / F 111 (see FIG. 3) includes a USB connection terminal, an analog audio IN terminal, an analog audio OUT terminal, and a power source in a portion corresponding to the diagonal of the front side wall of the main housing 10. Input terminals are installed.

  The portions corresponding to the corners at both ends of the front side wall of the main housing 10 are the rotation connection portions 13A and 13B with the sub-housings 11 and 12, and the rotation connection portions 13A and 13B are the rotation centers. The sub-housings 11 and 12 rotate with respect to the main housing 10. The rotary connection portions 13A and 13B are provided with rotary encoders 1171 and 1172 (see FIG. 3). The rotary encoder 1171 acquires a rotation detection signal corresponding to the rotation amount of the sub-housing 11, and the rotary encoder 1171 and 13B are rotated. The encoder 1172 acquires a rotation detection signal corresponding to the rotation amount of the sub-housing 12.

  The sub-housings 11 and 12 have a length in the long side direction that is substantially the same as one side of the triangle of the main housing 10, a length in the short side direction has a predetermined length, and a thickness that is the same as that of the main housing 10. It consists of a rectangular parallelepiped. One end of the sub-housings 11 and 12 in the long side direction is connected to the main housing 10 by rotation connection portions 13A and 13B. The sub-housings 11 and 12 have a state in which all sides in the long side direction contact the main housing 10 as one end of the rotation range, and the long side direction and the front side wall of the main housing 10 are parallel to each other. Through this position, the main casing 10 is rotated within a range in which a position at a predetermined angle that protrudes further in the front direction from the front side wall of the main housing 10 is the other end of the rotation range.

  The sub-housing 11 is in contact with one side wall of the main housing 10 (in the case of FIG. 2, the side wall on the upper right side), opposite to the main housing 10 side (in the case of FIG. 2). The four microphones MIC are installed with the sound collecting direction in the upper right direction). These microphones MIC are arranged at predetermined intervals along the long side direction of the sub-housing 11, and the microphone array that uses the four microphones MICs as the sound collection area outward from the side of the microphone MIC installation of the sub-housing 11. 1161 is configured.

  The sub-housing 12 is in contact with one side wall of the main housing 10 (the side wall on the upper left side in the case of FIG. 2), and the outside (in the case of FIG. 2) opposite to the main housing 10 side. The four microphones MIC are installed with the sound pickup direction in the upper left direction). These microphones MIC are arranged at predetermined intervals along the long side direction of the sub-housing 12, and the microphone array that uses the four microphones MICs to collect sound from the side of the microphone MIC installation side of the sub-housing 12. 1162 is configured. The sound collection signals from the microphones MIC of the microphone arrays 1161 and 1162 are given to the sound collection control unit 113 (see FIG. 3) of the main housing 10 through the rotation connection units 13A and 13B.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the sound emission and collection function device 1 includes the input / output I / F 111, the operation unit 115, the microphone arrays 1160 to 1162, and the rotary encoders 1171 and 1172 as functional units in the main housing 10. , A control unit 110, a sound emission control unit 112, a sound collection control unit 113, an echo canceller 114, and a speaker SP.

  The control unit 110 performs overall control of the sound emission and collection function device 1. The control unit 110 performs control based on commands input by the operators of the operation unit 115. For example, when the control unit 110 receives an operation input for starting and ending sound emission, the control unit 110 instructs the sound emission control unit 112 to start and stop the sound emission and outputs the sound collection control unit. An output start instruction and an output end instruction for the output sound pickup signal are issued to 113. Upon receiving an operation input for starting the PC application, the control unit 110 performs execution control of the PC application with respect to the PC 2. When the control unit 110 receives an operation input for volume adjustment of sound emission, the control unit 110 issues a sound emission control instruction for volume adjustment to the sound emission control unit 112. Upon receiving the microphone mute operation input, for example, the control unit 110 instructs the sound collection control unit 113 to stop outputting the collected sound signal for output, and causes the microphone mute operation element to blink.

  In addition, the control unit 110 acquires sound emission directivity information from the sound output sound signal with sound emission directivity information input from the input / output I / F 111 and gives a sound emission directivity instruction to the sound emission control unit 112. .

  Further, the control unit 110 determines the sound collection directivity based on the value (rotation amount) of the rotation detection signal from the rotary encoders 1171 and 1172, and issues a sound collection directivity instruction for forming the sound collection directivity. The sound collection control unit 113 is provided. Further, the control unit 110 outputs a rotation detection signal from the rotary encoders 1171 and 1172 to the PC 2. Further, the control unit 110 outputs a sound collection stop signal for notifying the stop of sound collection to the PC 2 in accordance with the value of the rotation detection signal from the rotary encoders 1171 and 1172, and performs microphone mute. Details of the processing when the rotation detection signal is input will be described later.

  The input / output I / F 111 is configured as described above. In this embodiment, the input / output I / F 111 is connected to the device I / F 211 of the PC 2 via the USB cable 300. The input / output I / F 111 receives a sound emission sound signal and transmits an output sound collection signal. When the input / output I / F 111 receives the sound output directivity information together with the sound output sound signal, the input / output I / F 111 gives the sound output directivity information to the control unit 110 and sends the sound output sound signal to the sound output control unit 112 via the echo canceller 114. give. When transmitting the output sound collection signal, the input / output I / F 111 acquires the sound collection directivity information from the control unit 110 and transmits it in association with the output sound collection signal. The input / output I / F 111 transmits and receives various control signals between the control unit 110 and the PC 2.

  The sound emission control unit 112 is an individual sound emission drive provided to each of the two speakers SP based on the sound emission sound signal acquired via the input / output I / F 111 and the sound emission directivity instruction from the control unit 110. Generate a signal. Specifically, the sound emission control unit 112 determines a delay relationship between the individual sound emission drive signals to be given to the two speakers SP based on the instructed sound emission directivity instruction. The sound emission control unit 112 performs delay processing according to the delay relationship on the two divided sound emission signals, and outputs the sound emission signals to the two speakers SP as individual sound emission drive signals. At this time, the sound emission control unit 112 performs signal level control of the individual sound emission drive signal in accordance with the sound emission control instruction for volume adjustment.

  The two speakers SP are arranged at a preset interval as described above and emit sound by an individual sound emission drive signal. The interval between the two speakers SP and the individual sound emission drive signals given to the two speakers SP are set in advance so as to function as a stereo speaker. Under these conditions, a plurality of sound emission directivities are realized.

  The four microphones MIC of the microphone array 1160 collect sound from the outside of the front side wall of the main housing 10 and generate a sound collection signal. The four microphones MIC in the microphone array 1161 collect sound from outside the microphone installation surface of the sub-housing 11 to generate a sound collection signal, and the four microphones MIC in the microphone array 1162 A sound collecting signal is generated by collecting sound from outside the microphone installation surface of the body 12.

  The sound collection control unit 113 performs a delay process and an addition process based on the sound collection directivity instruction given from the control unit 110 to the sound collection signals from the microphone MICs of the microphone arrays 1160 to 1162, thereby The sound collection signal for output picked up with the collected sound directivity is generated and outputted to the echo canceller 114. The sound collection control unit 113 gives sound collection directivity information to the control unit 110 when the sound collection direction can be acquired. At this time, if a plurality of speakers are speaking at the same time, an output sound collecting signal and sound collecting directivity information are generated individually.

  The echo canceller 114 includes an adaptive filter and a post processor including an adder. The adaptive filter generates a pseudo regression signal based on the emitted sound signal, and provides the pseudo regression signal to the adder of the post processor. The adder of the post processor performs echo cancellation by subtracting the pseudo regression sound signal from the collected sound signal for output, and outputs the result to the input / output I / F 111. At this time, the post processor feeds back the output result to the adaptive filter.

  The PC 2 is, for example, a general-purpose personal computer, and includes a CPU 210, a device I / F 211, a communication I / F 212, a storage medium 213, a RAM 214, an operation unit 215, and a display unit 216.

  The CPU 210 uses the RAM 214 as a temporary storage area and a work area, and executes various general-purpose processes including network communication based on input from the operation unit 215 and the like. The CPU 210 displays sound collection directivity information on which direction the sound is currently collected on the display unit 216 based on the value (rotation amount) of the rotation detection signal input from the sound emission and collection function device 1. The seating position at which optimum sound collection efficiency is obtained is displayed on the display unit 216. In addition, when the sound collection stop signal is input from the sound emission and collection function device 1, the CPU 210 transmits the sound communication partner to the voice communication device 6 via the communication I / F 212 and displays the voice communication partner on the display unit 216. It displays that the voice communication device 6 has stopped collecting sound.

  In addition, when the CPU 210 receives execution control of the PC application from the sound emission and collection function device 1, the CPU 210 activates the PC application.

  The device I / F 211 is a USB terminal in the present embodiment, and is connected to the input / output I / F 111 of the sound emission / collection function device 1 via the USB cable 300 to communicate between the CPU 210 and the sound emission / collection function device 1. To control.

  The communication I / F 212 is a so-called LAN terminal, and is connected to the network 400 via a network cable.

  The storage medium 213 includes a so-called hard disk drive HDD and stores a general-purpose processing program as a PC.

  The operation unit 215 is a so-called keyboard or mouse, receives an operation input from the user 900, and gives an instruction based on the operation to the CPU 210. For example, an operation input for setting the voice communication device 6 as the voice communication partner is received and the setting contents are given to the CPU 210.

  The display unit 216 includes a so-called liquid crystal display panel or the like.

  Next, the flow of processing when detecting the rotation detection signal, which is a feature of the present embodiment, will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when detecting the rotation detection signal. In the following description, it is assumed that the audio signal collected by the audio communication device 6a is transmitted to the audio communication device 6b. For simplification of explanation, the transmission processing of the collected audio signal and the sound emission processing of the received audio signal are omitted.

  As illustrated in FIG. 4, when the sound emission / collection function device 1 a of the voice communication device 6 a receives an operation input for starting sound emission from the operation unit 115, the sound emission / collection function device 1 a starts sound collection (S 101). When the rotary encoders 1171 and 1172 do not detect the rotation of the sub-housings 11 and 12 with respect to the main housing 10 (S102: No), the sound emission and collection function device 1a of the voice communication device 6a does not detect the microphone array 1160. The microphone MIC 1162 and the sound collection controller 113 collect sound for normal audio signal transmission (S108).

  When the rotary encoders 1171 and 1172 of the sound emission and collection function device 1a of the voice communication device 6a detect the rotation of the sub-housings 11 and 12 with respect to the main housing 10 (S102: Yes), the rotation detection signal is sent to the control unit 110. Is output. The control unit 110 calculates a rotation amount from the rotation detection signal, and measures a detection time length of the rotation detection signal (hereinafter referred to as a rotation time). The control unit 110 calculates a rotation measurement value based on the calculated rotation amount and the measured rotation time (S103). When the rotation measurement value is less than the threshold value (S104: No), the control unit 110 performs sound collection for normal audio signal transmission by the microphone MICs of the microphone arrays 1160 to 1162 and the sound collection control unit 113 ( S108).

  When the calculated rotation measurement value is equal to or greater than the threshold (S104: Yes), the control unit 110 instructs the sound collection control unit 113 to stop outputting the output sound collection signal (S105). The microphone mute controller is blinked (S106). The control unit 110 generates a sound collection stop signal and outputs it to the PC 2a. When the sound collection stop signal is input, the CPU 210 of the PC 2a transmits the sound collection stop signal to the voice communication device 6b (S107).

  The control unit 110 returns to step S102 and repeatedly executes the processes of steps S102 to S109 until an operation input for terminating the sound emission / collection is received from the operation unit 115 (S109: No). When the control unit 110 receives an operation input for ending the sound emission and collection from the operation unit 115 (S109: Yes), the sound collection process is ended.

  When receiving the sound collection stop signal (S121: Yes), the PC 2b of the voice communication device 6b displays on the display unit 216 of the PC 2 that the voice communication device 6a is stopping the sound collection (S122). Further, the PC 2b of the voice communication device 6b does not display that the sound collection is stopped unless the sound collection stop signal is received (S121: No) (S123). If the sound collection stop signal is not received while the sound collection stop signal is being received, the display indicating that the sound collection stop is being displayed is deleted.

  As described above, while detecting the rotation of the sub-housings 11 and 12 of the sound emission and collection function device 1a, the voice communication device 6a mutes the microphone and blinks the microphone mute operator. The sound collection stop signal is generated and transmitted to the voice communication device 6b. On the other hand, normal sound collection is performed while the rotation of the sub-housing of the sound emission and collection function device 1a is not detected. At this time, the microphone mute operator does not blink, and no sound collection stop signal is generated. In this way, the voice communication device 6a stops the sound collection process when detecting the rotation of the sub-case of its own device, so that the noise generated by the rotation of the sub-case is not collected and transmitted. can do. Accordingly, the voice communication device 6b does not emit noise because it does not receive the noise generated by the rotation of the sub-housing. For this reason, the noise which arises by rotation of this sub-casing does not make the voice communication partner user feel uncomfortable.

  In addition, when the sound collection is stopped, the voice communication device 6a blinks the microphone mute operator of the own device and transmits a sound collection stop signal to the voice communication device 6b. When receiving the sound collection stop signal, the voice communication device 6b displays a message to that effect on the display unit. Thereby, the voice communication apparatus on the transmission side can notify the user on the own apparatus side and the user on the voice communication partner side that the own apparatus has stopped collecting sound. Also, the voice communication device on the receiving side can notify the user on the own device side that the voice communication device of the voice communication partner has stopped collecting sound.

  Furthermore, the voice communication device 6a determines whether or not to stop sound collection based on the rotation amount and the rotation time. Thereby, the voice communication device 6a can stop the sound collection only when the rotation amount is large and the rotation time is long. As a result, the noise can be effectively removed by making the sound collection stop time for removing the noise as short as possible.

  In the above-described embodiment, the detection of the behavior has been described by taking the detection of the rotation of the sub-housings 11 and 12 with respect to the main housing 10 as an example. However, as the behavior detection, the movement of the sound emission and collection function device 1 itself may be detected. For example, when the user moves the sound emission and collection function device 1 from the installation position, the behavior of the device itself may be detected using an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, or the like. Furthermore, even if the behavior of the sound emission and collection function device 1 is detected by detecting both the rotation of the sub-housings 11 and 12 with respect to the main case 10 and the movement of the sound emission and collection function device 1 itself. Good.

  In the above-described embodiment, the rotation measurement value is calculated based on the rotation amount and the rotation time. However, the rotation measurement value may be calculated based on at least one of the rotation amount and the rotation time.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the sound collection is stopped while the calculated rotation measurement value is equal to or greater than the threshold value. However, while the rotation of the sub-housings 11 and 12 of the sound emission and collection function device 1 is detected, That is, the sound collection may be stopped if any rotation is detected. By detecting the rotation of the sub-housings 11 and 12 of the sound emission and collection function device 1, the sound collection is stopped, so that the rotation of the sub-housings 11 and 12 of the sound emission and collection function device 1 is simplified. Noise generated by movement can be prevented from being collected and output.

  In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the voice communication device 6 has notified the microphone mute of its own device by blinking the operation switch of the microphone mute. However, the sound communication device 6 emits a notification sound or indicates that the microphone mute is being performed. It may be displayed on the display unit 216. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the fact that the voice communication device 6 of the voice communication partner is in the microphone mute state is displayed on the display unit 216 of the PC 2, but a notification sound is emitted or displayed on the sound emission and collection function device 1. A part may be provided and displayed on the display part.

  In the above-described embodiment, the rotation amount is detected using the rotary encoders 1171 and 1172. However, another sensor that can detect the angle such as a rotary angle sensor may be used, and further, a test sound is output from the speaker SP. The amount of rotation may be detected by emitting a sound and collecting a test sound with the microphone MIC. When such a test sound is used, the sound emission and collection function device 1 performs a delay control having different patterns on the sound collection signals of the microphones MIC of the respective microphone arrays 1160 to 1162, thereby obtaining a plurality of sound collection beam signals. Form. The sound emission and collection function device 1 stores the level distribution of a plurality of sound collection beam signals for each rotation amount of the sub-housings 11 and 12, that is, for each positional relationship between the main housing 10 and the sub-housings 11 and 12. . The sound emission / collection function device 1 detects the rotation amount by calculating the level distribution of the plurality of acquired sound collection beam signals and comparing it with the stored level distribution. By detecting the rotation amount with such a sound emission / collection function, the rotation amount can be detected without attaching components not directly related to the sound emission / collection function, such as the rotary encoders 1171 and 1172. Thereby, the component structure of the sound emission and collection function device 1 can be simplified.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, voice communication is performed using the communication function of the general-purpose PC 2. However, the sound emission and collection function device 1 may be provided with a communication function.

  In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the voice communication device 6 having the communication function and the sound emission and collection function has been described as an example. However, a sound collection device having a sound collection function and a recording function may be used. The sound collection device picks up and records a sound signal. At this time, noise generated by moving the sound emission and collection function device 1 and noise generated by rotating the sub-housings 11 and 12 are not collected, so that recording can be performed with the noise removed.

It is a figure which shows a mode that the audio | voice communication between bases is performed using two audio | voice communication apparatuses. It is a top view in the basic posture of the sound emission and collection function apparatus of this embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of the audio | voice communication apparatus which consists of a sound emission and collection function apparatus of this embodiment, and PC. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process at the time of the detection of a rotation detection signal.

Explanation of symbols

1 (1a, 1b)-Sound emission / collection function device, 2 (2a, 2b)-PC, 6 (6a, 6b)-Voice communication device, 10-Main housing, 11, 12-Sub housing, 13A, 13B -Rotation connection unit, 110-control unit, 111-input / output I / F, 112-sound emission control unit, 113-sound collection control unit, 114-echo canceller, 115-operation unit, 210-CPU, 211-device I / F, 212-communication I / F, 213-storage medium, 214-RAM, 215-operation unit, 216-display unit, 300-USB cable, 400-network, 900-903-user, 1160-1162-microphone Array, 1171, 1172-rotary encoder, MIC-microphone, SP-speaker

Claims (5)

Sound collection means installed in the housing, collecting sound to a predetermined area and generating and outputting a sound collection signal;
Behavior detecting means for detecting the behavior of the housing,
The sound collection unit is a voice communication device that stops outputting the sound collection signal while the behavior detection unit detects the behavior of the housing. The behavior detecting means, when detecting the behavior of the housing, calculates a measurement value based on at least one of the behavior amount and behavior time of the housing;
The sound collection means stops outputting the sound collection signal when the measurement value calculated by the behavior detection means is greater than or equal to a threshold value, and outputs the sound collection signal when the measurement value is less than the threshold value. 2. The voice communication device according to 1. The housing is composed of a plurality of housings that are rotatably connected to each other,
The voice communication device according to claim 1, wherein the behavior detection unit detects the rotation of one of the plurality of casings as the behavior.   The voice communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising notification means for notifying the sound collection signal output stop of the sound collection means.   5. The voice communication device according to claim 1, further comprising an external output unit that outputs a sound collection stop signal for notifying the sound collection signal output stop of the sound collection unit to the outside.

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