Audio-Technica Corporation

A beamforming microphone system capable of reducing a processing load caused by calculation of directivity and flexibly setting an area where sound is picked up. A beamforming microphone system according to the present invention includes: a plurality of microphone units; a signal processing unit that processes a sound pickup signal from each microphone unit at each predetermined time; and a storage that associates, for each sound pickup area, sound pickup area information with individual-sound-pickup-area position information freely set within the sound pickup area and stores the information. The signal processing unit includes a position information identification unit that identifies sound source position information, a signal generation unit that generates the sound signal corresponding to the sound from the sound source position, and a channel assignment unit that assigns an output channel, based on the individual-sound-pickup-area position information on the individual sound pickup area to which the sound source position belongs.

A beamforming microphone system capable of reducing a processing load caused by calculation of directivity and flexibly setting an area where sound is picked up. A beamforming microphone system according to the present invention includes: a plurality of microphone units; a signal processing unit that processes a sound pickup signal from each microphone unit at each predetermined time; and a storage that associates, for each sound pickup area, sound pickup area information with individual-sound-pickup-area position information freely set within the sound pickup area and stores the information. The signal processing unit includes a position information identification unit that identifies sound source position information, a signal generation unit that generates the sound signal corresponding to the sound from the sound source position, and a channel assignment unit that assigns an output channel, based on the individual-sound-pickup-area position information on the individual sound pickup area to which the sound source position belongs.

The sound collection system includes: a first beamformer that outputs a first signal obtained by emphasizing sound coming from a direction within a first range, among sound arriving at a plurality of microphones, more than sound coming from other directions; a second beamformer that outputs a second signal obtained by emphasizing sound coming from a direction within a second range more than sound coming from other directions; a sound source direction detecting part that detects a sound source direction generating sound arriving at the plurality of microphones; and a directivity control part that causes the second beamformer to output the second signal if it is determined that a change angle per unit time of the direction of the sound source detected by the sound source direction detecting part is equal to or greater than a threshold while the first beamformer is outputting the first signal.

A method for determining microphone position is a method for determining positions of a plurality of microphones in a microphone array having the plurality of microphones arranged in a plurality of concentric circles. The method for determining microphone position includes a constraint condition acquiring step of acquiring constraint conditions including the maximum number of the plurality of microphones; and a selecting step of selecting, from among a plurality of combinations of (i) the number of microphones included in each of the plurality of concentric circles and (ii) the radius of each of the plurality of concentric circles, a combination indicating directional characteristics with the smallest difference from a target value of the directional characteristics of the microphone array, where the plurality of combinations satisfy the constraint conditions.

A method for determining microphone position is a method for determining positions of a plurality of microphones in a microphone array having the plurality of microphones arranged in a plurality of concentric circles. The method for determining microphone position includes a constraint condition acquiring step of acquiring constraint conditions including the maximum number of the plurality of microphones; and a selecting step of selecting, from among a plurality of combinations of (i) the number of microphones included in each of the plurality of concentric circles and (ii) the radius of each of the plurality of concentric circles, a combination indicating directional characteristics with the smallest difference from a target value of the directional characteristics of the microphone array; where the plurality of combinations satisfy the constraint conditions.

The sound collection system includes: a first beamformer that outputs a first signal obtained by emphasizing sound coming from a direction within a first range, among sound arriving at a plurality of microphones, more than sound coming from other directions; a second beamformer that outputs a second signal obtained by emphasizing sound coming from a direction within a second range more than sound coming from other directions; a sound source direction detecting part that detects a sound source direction generating sound arriving at the plurality of microphones; and a directivity control part that causes the second beamformer to output the second signal if it is determined that a change angle per unit time of the direction of the sound source detected by the sound source direction detecting part is equal to or greater than a threshold while the first beamformer is outputting the first signal.

A beamforming microphone system capable of reducing a processing load caused by calculation of directivity and flexibly setting an area where sound is picked up. A beamforming microphone system according to the present invention includes: a plurality of microphone units; a signal processing unit that processes a sound pickup signal from each microphone unit at each predetermined time; and a storage that associates, for each sound pickup area, sound pickup area information with individual-sound-pickup-area position information freely set within the sound pickup area and stores the information. The signal processing unit includes a position information identification unit that identifies sound source position information, a signal generation unit that generates the sound signal corresponding to the sound from the sound source position, and a channel assignment unit that assigns an output channel, based on the individual-sound-pickup-area position information on the individual sound pickup area to which the sound source position belongs.

A method for determining microphone position is a method for determining positions of a plurality of microphones in a microphone array having the plurality of microphones arranged in a plurality of concentric circles. The method for determining microphone position includes a constraint condition acquiring step of acquiring constraint conditions including the maximum number of the plurality of microphones; and a selecting step of selecting, from among a plurality of combinations of (i) the number of microphones included in each of the plurality of concentric circles and (ii) the radius of each of the plurality of concentric circles, a combination indicating directional characteristics with the smallest difference from a target value of the directional characteristics of the microphone array, where the plurality of combinations satisfy the constraint conditions.

A method for determining microphone position is a method for determining positions of a plurality of microphones in a microphone array having the plurality of microphones arranged in a plurality of concentric circles. The method for determining microphone position includes a constraint condition acquiring step of acquiring constraint conditions including the maximum number of the plurality of microphones; and a selecting step of selecting, from among a plurality of combinations of (i) the number of microphones included in each of the plurality of concentric circles and (ii) the radius of each of the plurality of concentric circles, a combination indicating directional characteristics with the smallest difference from a target value of the directional characteristics of the microphone array; where the plurality of combinations satisfy the constraint conditions.

Provided is a microphone array device that is excellent in portability and suppresses sound wave interference. A microphone array device 1 according to the present invention includes a plurality of microphones and a housing 10 that accommodates the microphones. The housing includes first, second, third and fourth holes opened to an end surface of the housing in +X-axis, −X-axis, +Y-axis and −Y-axis directions, respectively. A first, second, third and fourth microphones are mounted in the first, second, third and fourth holes, respectively, and the holes are disposed on an XY virtual plane. An X-axis length Lx between an opening end of the first hole and an opening end of the second hole is shorter than a Y-axis length Ly between an opening end of the third hole and an opening end of the fourth hole and/or a Z-axis length Lz of the housing.