Audio reproducing apparatus and audio reproducing method

• US 8,175,317 B2
• Filed: 10/16/2006
• Issued: 05/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Nakano, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Mei, Xu
• Application Number:
  US11/581,665
• Publication Number:
  US 20070092099A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,031 Days
• Field of Search: 381/77, 381/387, 381/307, 381/310, 381334-336
• US Class Current: 381/387
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/403 loud-speakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/12 for distributing signals to two or more loudspeakers specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407

Abstract

An audio reproducing apparatus is disclosed. The audio reproducing apparatus includes a plurality of speaker units and a directivity controlling section. The radiation surfaces of the plurality of speaker units outwardly face. The directivity controlling section controls directivities of the plurality of speaker units so as to form one or a plurality of low sensitivity regions.

Claims

1. An audio reproducing apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of speaker units whose radiation surfaces face outwardly away from one another; and

a directivity controlling means for controlling directivities of the plurality of speaker units so that a sum of the directivities of the plurality of speaker units becomes 0 so as to form at least one low sensitivity region where audio signals generated from a speaker of the plurality of speaker units not facing a listening position are suppressed and unable to be heard by a listener located at the listening position.

2. The audio reproducing apparatus as set forth in claim 1,

wherein the directivity controlling means calculates weighting factors for the plurality of speaker units so that the sum of the directivities of the plurality of speaker units becomes 0, and

wherein audio signals multiplied by the weighting factors are supplied to the plurality of speaker units and reproduced therefrom.

3. The audio reproducing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

determining means for determining the positions of listeners,

wherein the directivity controlling means controls the directivities of the plurality of speaker units corresponding to information about the positions of the listeners supplied from the determining means.

4. The audio reproducing apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein the determining means comprises at least one of a camera unit, an ultrasonic wave emitting device, an infrared ray emitting device or a sound wave detection device.

5. The audio reproducing apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein the camera unit is adapted to capture images in directions 360 degrees around and the determining means is configured to analyze captured image data from the camera unit to determine the positions of listeners.

6. The audio reproducing apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein the ultrasonic wave emitting device is adapted to emit an ultrasonic wave in a radial direction of each speaker unit and the determining means is configured to detect a reflection wave from each listener against the ultrasonic wave to determine the positions of listeners.

7. The audio reproducing apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein the determining means is configured to detect a time difference between a time at which each listener speaks and a time at which a sound wave of the listener reaches one of the plurality of speaker units to determine the positions of listeners.

8. The audio reproducing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the plurality of speaker units are radially disposed on a plurality of baffle plates disposed on a surface of a cylindrical enclosure.

9. An audio reproducing apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of speaker units whose radiation surfaces face outwardly away from one another,

wherein weighting factors for the plurality of speaker units are calculated so that the sum of the directivities of the plurality of speaker units becomes 0, and

wherein audio signals multiplied by the weighting factors are supplied to the plurality of speaker units and reproduced therefrom so as to form at least one low sensitivity region where audio signals generated from a speaker of the plurality of speaker units not facing a listening position are suppressed and unable to be heard by a listener located at the listening position.

10. An audio reproducing method of reproducing audio signals from a plurality of speaker units, comprising the step of:

controlling directivities of the plurality of speaker units so that the sum of the directivities of the plurality of speaker units becomes 0 so as to form at least one of low sensitivity region where sound generated from a speaker of the plurality of speaker units not facing a listening position are suppressed and unable to be heard by a listener located at the listening position.

11. An audio reproducing apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of speaker units whose radiation surfaces face outwardly away from one another; and

a directivity controlling section which controls directivities of the plurality of speaker units so that a sum of the directivities of the plurality of speaker units becomes 0 so as to form at least one of low sensitivity region where sound generated from a speaker of the plurality of speaker units not facing a listening position are suppressed and unable to be heard by a listener located at the listening position.