WEARABLE TERMINAL, MOBILE IMAGING SOUND COLLECTING DEVICE, AND DEVICE, METHOD, AND PROGRAM FOR IMPLEMENTING THEM

• US 20090129620A1
• Filed: 02/27/2007
• Published: 05/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kanamori, Takeo, Tagawa, Junichi
• Granted Patent: US 8,155,345 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/364
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407

Abstract

A wearable terminal is constantly worn by a user and continually picks up images and sounds from the surroundings. Even when using a directional microphone to sensitively pick up targeted audio, the wearable terminal can reduce noise occurring due to motion of the device, for example when the user is walking, and reduce the influence of a shift of the sound pickup direction. For this purpose, the wearable terminal includes a sensor for detecting motion, and performs microphone directivity control to use the directional microphone when the amount of motion is small, and to use an omnidirectional microphone that is not likely to be influenced by noise when the amount of motion is large.

Claims

1. A wearable terminal comprising:

a sound pickup unit operable to form a directivity having a predetermined pattern, and to pick up sound in accordance with the formed directivity;

a detection unit operable to detect motion of a wearable terminal housing; and

a switching unit operable to, in accordance with an amount of detected motion, switch from a directivity currently used for sound pickup to a different directivity, wherein

the different directivity is one of a directivity having a different pattern from the directivity being used directly before the switch, and omnidirectionality.

2. The wearable terminal of claim 1, wherein

the sound pickup unit includes a plurality of microphones, and

the motion used as a reference for the switch by the switching unit is motion that occurs in a reference axis direction of one of the microphones.

3. The wearable terminal of claim 2, wherein

each of the microphones includes a diaphragm that senses sound pressure,

the reference axis direction is an axial direction of the diaphragm when the diaphragm is considered to be substantially axially symmetric, and

the motion detected by the detection unit is motion in a pitch direction.

4. The wearable terminal of claim 2, wherein

the detection unit includes

a sensor operable to output angular velocities of motion occurring in each of a pitch direction, a roll direction, and a yaw direction of the wearable terminal housing, and

a converting subunit operable to select from among the angular velocities of motion occurring in the pitch direction, the roll direction, and the yaw direction, and convert an angular velocity of motion that causes the one of the microphones to be displaced in the reference axis direction into a displacement amount, and

the switching unit includes a comparison subunit operable to compare the displacement amount to a threshold, and

the switch by the switching unit is performed if the displacement amount exceeds the threshold.

5. The wearable terminal of claim 4, wherein

if the displacement amount exceeds the threshold, the directivity that the sound pickup unit uses to pick up sound is switched to be omnidirectional by the switching unit.

6. The wearable terminal of claim 5, further comprising:

a camera, wherein

if the displacement amount is less than or equal to the threshold, the directivity that the sound pickup unit uses to pick up sound is switched to be an image pickup direction of the camera by the switching unit.

7. The wearable terminal of claim 2, further comprising:

a camera operable to perform image processing at predetermined time intervals, wherein

the detection by the detection unit is performed by comparing a first image taken by the camera and a second image taken by the camera at a previous time to the first image, and

the motion detected by the detection unit is motion in the reference axis direction.

8. The wearable terminal of claim 7, wherein

in accordance with the first image and the second image, if the displacement amount of the wearable terminal housing in the pitch direction is judged to exceed a threshold, the directivity that the sound pickup unit uses to pick up sound is switched to be omnidirectional by the switching unit.

9. A wearable terminal according to claim 1, 4 or 7, wherein

if the displacement amount in the reference axis direction is output that has impulsivity, the directivity that the sound pickup unit uses to pick up sound is switched to be omnidirectional by the switching unit.

10. The wearable terminal of claim 9, wherein

the detection unit includes a sensor that outputs angular velocities of motion occurring in each of a pitch direction, a roll direction, and a yaw direction of the wearable terminal housing,

the output that has impulsivity is expressed by a difference value between respective displacement amounts obtained from the angular velocities of motion occurring in two or more of the pitch direction, the roll direction, and the yaw direction,

the switching unit includes a comparison subunit that compares the difference value to a threshold, and

the switch by the switching unit is performed if the difference value exceeds the threshold.

11. The wearable terminal of claim 9, further comprising:

a camera operable to perform image processing at predetermined time intervals, wherein

the output that has impulsivity is expressed by an amount of shake in images taken by the camera.

12. A wearable terminal according to claim 1, 7, or 9, wherein

the sound pickup unit includes at least one each of a directional microphone and an omnidirectional microphone, and

if motion is detected by the detection unit, the switch by the switching unit is performed by switching from outputting a signal received from the directional microphone to outputting a signal received from the omnidirectional microphone.

13. A wearable terminal according to claim 1, 7, or 9, wherein

the sound pickup unit includes at least two omnidirectional microphones, the wearable terminal further comprises:

a synthesis unit operable to perform synthesis to form a directional sensitivity by synthesizing input signals from the omnidirectional microphones, thus generating a synthesized signal, and

if motion is detected by the detection unit, the switch by the switching unit is performed by switching from outputting the synthesized signal generated by the synthesis unit to outputting one of the original input signals from the omnidirectional microphones.

14. The wearable terminal of claim 4, wherein

the comparison subunit compares the displacement amount to one of a plurality of separately set thresholds depending on a direction in which the motion has occurred.

15. The wearable terminal of claim 1, wherein

the switch by the switching unit is performed with use of cross-fade processing.

16. A processor for controlling a wearable terminal, the processor including an integrated circuit, wherein

the wearable terminal includes

a sound pickup unit operable to form a directivity having a predetermined pattern, and to pick up sound in accordance with the formed directivity,

a detection unit operable to detect motion of a wearable terminal housing;

and

a switching unit operable to, in accordance with an amount of detected motion, switch from a directivity currently used for sound pickup to a different directivity, wherein

the different directivity is one of a directivity having a different pattern from the directivity being used directly before the switch, and omnidirectionality, and

the processor outputs a signal for controlling the switching unit in accordance with a signal indicating the displacement amount received from the detection unit with use of the integrated circuit.

17. A method for controlling a wearable terminal, comprising:

a sound pickup step of forming a directivity having a predetermined pattern, and picking up sound in accordance with the formed directivity;

a detection step of detecting motion of a wearable terminal housing; and

a switching step of, in accordance with an amount of detected motion, switching from a directivity currently used for sound pickup to a different directivity, wherein

the different directivity is one of a directivity having a different pattern from the directivity being used directly before the switch, and omnidirectionality.

18. A program for causing a processor to perform control on a wearable terminal, the program comprising:

a sound pickup step of forming a directivity having a predetermined pattern, and picking up sound in accordance with the formed directivity;

a detection step of detecting motion of a wearable terminal housing; and

a switching step of, in accordance with an amount of detected motion, switching from a directivity currently used for sound pickup to a different directivity, wherein

the different directivity is one of a directivity having a different pattern from the directivity being used directly before the switch, and omnidirectionality.

19. A computer-readable recording medium on which the program of claim 18 is recorded.