Speaker System

• US 20080159545A1
• Filed: 01/04/2005
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: Konagai, Yusuke, Takumai, Susumu
• Granted Patent: US 8,194,863 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/17
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/26 Spatial arrangements of separate transducers responsive to two or more frequency ranges
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/403 loud-speakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2205/022 Plurality of transducers corresponding to a plurality of sound channels in each earpiece of headphones or in a single enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/12 for distributing signals to two or more loudspeakers specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 3/00 Systems employing more than two channels, e.g. quadraphonic H04S5/00, H04S7/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 3/002 Non-adaptive circuits, e.g. manually adjustable or static, for enhancing the sound image or the spatial distribution control circuits for electronic adaptation of the sound field H04S7/30

Abstract

A speaker array is provided which can increase the orientation when reproducing front channels of a surround sound, increase the density effect, improve the narrow directivity when reproducing a stereo sound and increase the selectivity in selecting reproduction methods which match setting environments.

When reproducing a stereo sound by a speaker array for reproducing a surround sound by converting a sound into a beam of sound, the speaker array is divided into a sound reproducing region for an L system and a sound reproducing region for an R system at a central portion thereof. Then, each of the reproducing regions so divided is further divided in to bands. In addition, since a high frequency reproducing region has a high directivity and a strong orientation when the sound is attempted to be reproduced simultaneously by the plurality of speakers as is described above, a reproducing region is limited to part of the reproducing regions. Additionally, when stereo reproducing a front system of a surround sound source, the center orientation is improved by implementing different processings for the L, R systems and C. By adopting this configuration, it is possible to reproduce a sound with a natural stereo effect with no high frequency sound converted into a beam of sound.

Claims

1. A speaker system comprising:

a speaker array including a plurality of speakers which are arranged into a matrix; and

a sound signal processing unit that divides a sound source into a plurality of bands and divides the speaker array into a plurality of reproduction regions so as to allocate the bands to the divided reproduction regions, respectively, the band of a high frequency being allocated to a smallest one of the reproduction regions.

2. The speaker system according to claim 1, wherein the sound signal processing unit sets regions which reproduce a left channel and a right channel of a stereo sound source or surround sound source such that a reproduction band increases from a central portion toward opposite end portions of the speaker array with the number of speakers allocated decreasing as the reproduction band increases.

3. The speaker system according to claim 2, wherein the sound signal processing unit implements a signal processing in such a manner that a sound signal of a center channel of the stereo sound source or surround sound source becomes non-directional.

4. The speaker system according to claim 2, wherein the sound signal processing unit sets a region which reproduces the center channel of the stereo sound source or surround sound source such that a reproduction band increases from the opposite end portions to the central portion with the number of speakers allocated decreasing as the reproduction band increases.

5. A speaker system comprising:

a speaker array including a plurality of speakers which are arranged into a matrix; and

unit speaker circuits provided to correspond to the speakers individually and each having a primary filter which filters sound signals of left and right channels of a stereo sound source or surround sound source,

wherein a passable frequency band of the primary filter of each of the unit speaker circuits is set so as to increase from opposite end portions to a central portion of the speaker array.

6. The speaker system according to claim 5, wherein the band of the primary filter is divided into a high frequency, a medium frequency and a low frequency and the number of the unit speaker circuits having the filter of the high frequency is made smaller than the number of those unit speaker circuits having filters of the other frequencies.

7. The speaker system according to claim 5, wherein the band of the filter increases from the central portion to the opposite end portions of the speaker array.

8. The speaker system according to claim 5, wherein the unit speaker circuit implements a signal processing in such a manner that a sound signal of a center channel of the stereo sound source or surround sound source becomes non-directional.

9. The speaker system according to claim 5, wherein the unit speaker circuit has a secondary filter which filters a sound signal of the center channel of the stereo sound source or surround sound source and a passable frequency band of the secondary filter of each of the unit speaker circuits is set so as to increase from the opposite end portions to the central portion.