Audio content distribution system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12389185-B2
Application number	US-202118002506-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 28, 2021
Priority date	Jun 30, 2020
Publication date	Aug 12, 2025
Grant date	Aug 12, 2025

Abstract

An audio content distribution system includes a server device and a user terminal. The server device includes an audio-data acquisition unit that acquires audio data from a distribution source, an audio-content-data generation unit that adds, to the audio data, acoustic-effect setting information indicating whether to add echo and/or attenuation of sound in a virtual reality space, and generates audio content data, and an audio-content-data distribution unit that distributes the audio content data to a user terminal of a user who operates an avatar in the virtual reality space. The user terminal includes an audio-content-data receiving unit that receives the audio content data from the server device, and an audio-data output-control unit that outputs the audio data stored in the audio content data with an acoustic effect according to the acoustic-effect setting information.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An audio content distribution system that distributes audio content to avatars operated by users in a virtual reality space, comprising:
a server device; and
a user terminal capable of communicating with the server device, wherein
the server device includes
an audio-data acquisition unit that acquires audio data from a distribution source,
an audio-content-data generation unit that adds, to the audio data, acoustic-effect setting information indicating whether to add echo and/or attenuation of sound in the virtual reality space, to generate audio content data, and
an audio-content-data distribution unit that distributes the audio content data to a user terminal of a user who operates an avatar in the virtual reality space, and
the user terminal includes
an audio-content-data receiving unit that receives the audio content data from the server device, and
an audio-data output-control unit that outputs the audio data stored in the audio content data with an acoustic effect according to the acoustic-effect setting information, wherein
the audio-content-data generation unit adds, in addition to the acoustic-effect setting information, target information for specifying a target to the audio data to generate the audio content data, and
the audio-data output-control unit determines based on the target information included in the audio content data whether an avatar operated by a user matches the target, and if it is determined that the avatar operated by the user matches the target, the audio-data output-control unit outputs the audio data.

2. The audio content distribution system according to claim 1 , wherein
the target information includes information for specifying an area in the virtual reality space, and the audio-data output-control unit, in a case in which an avatar operated by a user is located in the area, determines that the avatar operated by the user matches the target.

3. The audio content distribution system according to claim 1 , wherein
the target information includes information for specifying the number of avatars, and the audio-data output-control unit, in a case in which an avatar operated by a user and other avatars have gathered in the virtual reality space, and the number of the avatars gathered is larger than or equal to the specified number, determines that the avatar operated by the user matches the target.

4. The audio content distribution system according to claim 1 , wherein
the target information includes information for specifying an avatar attribute, and the audio-data output-control unit, in a case in which an avatar operated by a user has the attribute, determines that the avatar operated by the user matches the target.

5. The audio content distribution system according to claim 1 , wherein
the target information includes information for specifying an environmental condition including at least one item out of time, situations, and places in the virtual reality space, and the audio-data output-control unit, in a case in which an avatar operated by a user is in the environmental condition, determines that the avatar operated by the user matches the target.

6. An audio content distribution system that distributes audio content to avatars operated by users in a virtual reality space, comprising:
a server device; and
a user terminal capable of communicating with the server device, wherein
the server device includes
an audio-data acquisition unit that acquires audio data from a distribution source,
an audio-content-data generation unit that adds, to the audio data, acoustic-effect setting information indicating whether to add echo and/or attenuation of sound in the virtual reality space, to generate audio content data, and
an audio-content-data distribution unit that distributes the audio content data to a user terminal of a user who operates an avatar in the virtual reality space, and
the user terminal includes
an audio-content-data receiving unit that receives the audio content data from the server device, and
an audio-data output-control unit that outputs the audio data stored in the audio content data with an acoustic effect according to the acoustic-effect setting information, wherein
in a case in which the audio-content-data generation unit sets the acoustic-effect setting information so as not to add echo and attenuation of sound in the virtual reality space, the audio-content-data generation unit is able to set a distance and/or a directivity that sound reaches without echo and attenuation in the virtual reality space.

7. An audio content distribution system that distributes audio content to avatars operated by users in a virtual reality space, comprising:
a server device; and
a user terminal capable of communicating with the server device, wherein
the server device includes
an audio-data acquisition unit that acquires audio data from a distribution source,
an audio-content-data generation unit that adds, to the audio data, acoustic-effect setting information indicating whether to add echo and/or attenuation of sound in the virtual reality space, to generate audio content data, and
an audio-content-data distribution unit that distributes the audio content data to a user terminal of a user who operates an avatar in the virtual reality space, and
the user terminal includes
an audio-content-data receiving unit that receives the audio content data from the server device, and
an audio-data output-control unit that outputs the audio data stored in the audio content data with an acoustic effect according to the acoustic-effect setting information, wherein
the server device further includes an advertising-fee calculation unit that detects that audio data has been outputted at the user terminal, and calculates an advertising fee to be given to the user, based on the number of seconds and/or the number of times the audio data has been outputted.

Assignees

• Dentsu Inc

Inventors

• Hotta Mihoko

Classifications

• H04S2400/13

  Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in stereophonic sound systems · CPC title

• H04S2400/11

  Positioning of individual sound objects, e.g. moving airplane, within a sound field (H04S2420/13 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H04S7/305

  Electronic adaptation of stereophonic audio signals to reverberation of the listening space (H04S7/301 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06Q30/0273 Primary

  Determination of fees for advertising · CPC title

• H04S7/302

  Electronic adaptation of stereophonic sound system to listener position or orientation (H04S7/301 takes precedence) · CPC title