Acoustic reproduction system, display device, and calibration method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11895461-B2
Application number	US-202017757004-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 23, 2020
Priority date	Dec 20, 2019
Publication date	Feb 6, 2024
Grant date	Feb 6, 2024

Abstract

Provided is an acoustic reproduction system capable of setting a sound image localization service area at an arbitrary position even in a case where a sound production direction of a directional sound cannot be changed. An acoustic reproduction system according to the present technology includes a sound producing device that emits a directional sound and a sound reflector positioned between a viewer and a viewing target by the viewer and having a sound reflecting surface that reflects the directional sound emitted by the sound producing device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An acoustic reproduction system, comprising:
a sound producing device configured to emit a directional sound;
a sound reflector positioned between a viewer and a viewing target by the viewer and having a plurality of sound reflecting surfaces that reflects the directional sound emitted by the sound producing device, wherein
the plurality of sound reflecting surfaces have mutually different inclination directions; and

the sound producing device is further configured to emit the directional sound from a ceiling side to a first sound reflecting surface of the plurality of sound reflecting surfaces and from a floor side to a second sound reflecting surface of the plurality of sound reflecting surfaces.

2. The acoustic reproduction system according to claim 1 , wherein the sound producing device is further configured to emit a sound by a plane wave.

3. The acoustic reproduction system according to claim 2 , wherein the sound producing device has a sound producing unit configured with a plane wave speaker.

4. The acoustic reproduction system according to claim 3 , wherein the plane wave speaker has a diaphragm non-parallel to a bottom surface.

5. The acoustic reproduction system according to claim 1 , wherein the sound producing device includes a speaker array including a plurality of speakers as a sound producing unit, and is further configured to emit the directional sound from the speaker array based on application of specific audio signal processing to an audio signal to be output by the speakers in the speaker array.

6. The acoustic reproduction system according to claim 1 , wherein the sound reflector has optical transparency.

7. The acoustic reproduction system according to claim 6 , wherein the plurality of sound reflecting surfaces is a half mirror.

8. The acoustic reproduction system according to claim 1 , wherein
the sound reflector is inclined towards viewer side, and
the sound producing device emits the directional sound from a floor side to the plurality of sound reflecting surfaces.

9. The acoustic reproduction system according to claim 1 , wherein the sound producing device is further configured to emit the directional sound to have an incident angle in a lateral direction with respect to the plurality of sound reflecting surfaces.

10. The acoustic reproduction system according to claim 1 , wherein the sound reflector is in a plate shape.

11. The acoustic reproduction system according to claim 10 , wherein the sound reflector is suspended from a ceiling side.

12. The acoustic reproduction system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a reflector inclination angle adjustment unit configured to adjust an inclination angle of the sound reflector.

13. The acoustic reproduction system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a direction adjustment unit configured to adjust a sound production direction of the directional sound.

14. The acoustic reproduction system according to claim 13 , wherein
the sound producing device has a sound producing unit configured with a directional speaker, and
the direction adjustment unit is further configured to adjust the sound production direction of the directional sound based on adjustment of an angle of the directional speaker.

15. The acoustic reproduction system according to claim 13 , wherein
the sound producing device includes a speaker array including a plurality of speakers as a sound producing unit, and is further configured to emit the directional sound from the speaker array based on application of specific audio signal processing to an audio signal to be output by the speakers in the speaker array, and
the direction adjustment unit is further configured to adjust the sound production direction of the directional sound by the audio signal processing.

16. The acoustic reproduction system according to claim 1 , wherein the viewing target is a display unit of a self-luminous display device.

17. The acoustic reproduction system according to claim 1 , wherein a speaker constituting a sound producing unit of the sound producing device is near a floor between the sound reflector and the viewer.

18. A display device, comprising:
a self-luminous display unit configured to display a video; and
a sound reflector in front of a display surface of the video on the display unit and having a plurality of sound reflecting surfaces that reflects a sound, wherein
the sound corresponds to a directional sound,
the plurality of sound reflecting surfaces have mutually different inclination directions, and
the directional sound is emitted from a ceiling side to a first sound reflecting surface of the plurality of sound reflecting surfaces and from a floor side to a second sound reflecting surface of the plurality of sound reflecting surfaces.

19. A calibration method of an acoustic reproduction system, including:
a sound producing device configured to emit a directional sound;
a sound reflector positioned between a viewer and a viewing target by the viewer and having a plurality of sound reflecting surfaces that reflects the directional sound emitted by the sound producing device, wherein
the plurality of sound reflecting surfaces have mutually different inclination directions;

the sound producing device is further configured to emit the directional sound from a ceiling side to a first sound reflecting surface of the plurality of sound reflecting surfaces and from a floor side to a second sound reflecting surface of the plurality of sound reflecting surfaces; and
a control unit configured to control an incident angle of the directional sound on the plurality of sound reflecting surfaces, the calibration method comprising:
learning a change in a sound pickup signal of the directional sound reflected by the plurality of sound reflecting surfaces with respect to a change in the incident angle, and
adjusting the incident angle based on a result of the learning.

Assignees

• Sony Group Corp

Inventors

• Asada Kohei
• Igarashi Go
• Ookuri Kazunobu
• Kuroda Yoshiyuki
• Shinmen Naoki
• Numaoka Chisato

Classifications

• H04R1/34 Primary

  by using a single transducer with sound reflecting, diffracting, directing or guiding means {(specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/402)} · CPC title

• H04R7/04

  Plane diaphragms · CPC title

• H04R1/345 Primary

  for loudspeakers · CPC title

• H04R3/14

  Cross-over networks · CPC title

• H04R2499/15

  Transducers incorporated in visual displaying devices, e.g. televisions, computer displays, laptops · CPC title