Sound field measurement device

• US 7,680,286 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2004
• Issued: 03/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Hashimoto, Hiroyuki, Hashimoto, Koichi, Satoh, Kazue, Terai, Kenichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin; Vivian
• Assistant Examiner(s): SUTHERS, DOUGLAS JOHN
• Application Number:
  US10/852,239
• Publication Number:
  US 20040240676A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,121 Days
• Field of Search: 381/86, 381/56, 381/57, 381/58, 381/59, 381/92
• US Class Current: 381/86
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/13 Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/02 Spatial or constructional arrangements of loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/301 Automatic calibration of stereophonic sound system, e.g. with test microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/302 Electronic adaptation of stereophonic sound system to listener position or orientation H04S7/301 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/305 Electronic adaptation of stereophonic audio signals to reverberation of the listening space H04S7/301 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/307 Frequency adjustment, e.g. tone control H04S7/301 takes precedence

Abstract

A wide frequency range signal from a test sound source is reproduced successively by a plurality of speakers, and the reproduced sound is detected by a plurality of microphones, after which the frequency characteristics are obtained at FFTs, while obtaining the frequency characteristics of the wide frequency range signal at an FFT. A high frequency range level is normalized with a low frequency range level, and a determination section compares the normalized value with a reference value stored in a reference value storage section to determine the number and positions of people in the sound field. The transfer functions between the speakers and the microphones are calculated at transfer function calculators, and impulse responses are obtained at IFFTs, after which a reverberation time calculator calculates the reverberation time based on the impulse responses. An audio signal is adjusted based on the results.

Claims

1. A sound field measurement device, comprising:

a test sound source configured to generate a wide frequency range signal including an audio signal and a test signal;

a plurality of speakers configured to reproduce the audio signal and the test signal included in the wide frequency range signal to output an audio sound and a test sound respectively;

a plurality of microphones configured to detect the test sound when the test sound is outputted from one of said plurality of speakers;

a measurement section configured to determine a number and positions of people present in a sound field, based on test sound detected by said plurality of microphones; and

a directionality controller configured to change a directionality of said plurality of microphones toward a position of the one speaker, outputting the test sound, of the plurality of speakers, wherein

the test sound source outputs at least a high frequency range signal included in a range from 1 kHz to 10 kHz where the presence or absence of people has a significant influence and a low frequency range signal included in a range from 80 Hz to 800 Hz where the presence or absence of people does not have a substantial influence in a time division manner or at least a wide frequency range signal which includes both the high frequency range signal and the low frequency range signal; and

the measurement section includes;

a frequency analyzer configured to analyze frequency characteristics of each of the test sound signals detected by the plurality of microphones;

a high frequency range level calculator and a low frequency range level calculator configured to calculate a high frequency range signal level and a low frequency range signal level, respectively, of each of the test sound signals detected by the plurality of microphones based on the analysis by the frequency analyzer;

a reference value storage section configured to store a reference value which is obtained by normalizing a level value in a predetermined portion of a high frequency range from the high frequency range level calculator in the absence of people in the sound field with a level value in a predetermined portion of a low frequency range from the low frequency range level calculator in the absence of people in the sound field; and

the determination section configured to determine the number and positions of people present in the sound field by comparing a normalized value with the reference value stored in the reference value storage section, the normalized value being obtained by normalizing a level value in a predetermined portion of a high frequency range from the high frequency range level calculator with a level value in a predetermined portion of a low frequency range from the low frequency range level calculator.

2. The sound field measurement device according to claim 1, wherein at least two of said plurality of microphones are installed either on a cabin ceiling near a center of a cabin of an automobile, on top of a seat back of a driver'"'"'s seat or a front passenger'"'"'s seat near the center of the cabin, around a sun visor of the driver'"'"'s seat inside the cabin, or around the rear-view mirror inside the cabin.

3. The sound field measurement device according to claim 1, wherein the directionality controller processes signals from at least three of said plurality of microphones so that a directionality of the microphones is strengthened in a direction toward one of the plurality of the speakers which is currently outputting the test sound.

4. The sound field measurement device according to claim 1, wherein the reference value storage section stores, as the reference value, transfer characteristics between each speaker-microphone pair in the absence of people in the sound field, or transfer characteristics between each speaker-microphone pair for each of possible combinations of positions of people in the sound field including the absence of people therein.

5. The sound field measurement device according to claim 1, wherein the determination section determines the presence/absence of a person at a position based on the test sound signals detected by said plurality of microphones when a speaker located close to the position outputs the test sound.

6. The sound field measurement device according to claim 3, wherein:

the plurality of speakers includes at least four speakers including a front-right speaker, a front-left speaker, a rear-right speaker and a rear-left speaker;

one microphone is positioned at an intersection between a straight line between the front-right speaker and the rear-left speaker and another straight line between the front-left speaker and the rear-right speaker; and

two microphones other than said one microphone are positioned along the two straight lines, one on each straight line.