JP4450077B2 - Telephone device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a call device that reproduces sound from a direction in which a call partner is present.

Conventionally, there has been a call device that detects the relative direction of a call partner and localizes the call voice in the relative direction of the call partner in a three-dimensional sound field and plays it back (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This call device determines the relative direction of the call partner by calculation based on the information of the telephone number (area code etc.) notified from the other party, the user's own position input by operating the caller, and the like. . Then, the call device localizes the voice of the other party in the three-dimensional sound field based on the determined relative direction information, and reproduces the other party's voice. By using the call device described in Patent Document 1, the user can grasp the relative direction of the call partner without confirming the map information displayed on the display device such as the LCD.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-184017 (page 4-7, FIG. 1-6).

  However, in the call device described in Patent Document 1, in order to specify the position of the other party based on the telephone number information such as the area code notified from the other party as described above, when calling with the other party using the landline However, there is a problem that the relative direction of the other party cannot be determined when talking to the other party using the mobile phone. This is because, as is well known, since the mobile phone is a movable terminal, the location of the other party cannot be specified only by the phone number.

  In the call device described in Patent Document 1, it is not necessary to stop and check the map each time in order to check the direction of the other party as described above, but the user inputs his / her position instead. I have to do it. In addition, when the user is moving while talking with the other party, the relative position with the other party changes, so an input for changing his / her position information at a predetermined interval must be made. Therefore, every time the user inputs his / her position, there is a problem that the user has to stop and operate the communication device. Furthermore, when the user talks with the other party at an unguided place, the user cannot input the user's position information to the calling device, and thus there is a problem that the relative direction of the other party cannot be determined.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and outputs the other party's voice from the direction of the other party without inputting the position information of the other party during the call, and It is an object of the present invention to provide a call device in which the volume of the other party's voice changes according to the distance.

  The present invention has the following configuration as means for solving the above problems.

(1) position acquisition means for acquiring user position information;
A communication means for transmitting the user's voice and the user's position information to the call partner, and receiving the voice sent from the call partner and the position information of the call partner;
Based on the location information of the user and the location information of the call partner, the direction of the call partner with respect to the user and the distance to the call partner are obtained, and the sound is heard from this direction, and according to the distance to the call partner to change the volume of voice of the call partner Te, and audio reproduction means for reproducing the voice of the call partner,
Equipped with a,
The communication means transmits the sound by changing the volume of the user's voice according to the direction in which the user is facing .

In this configuration, the call device automatically acquires the position of the user, and specifies the direction of the call partner relative to the user based on this information and the position information of the call partner sent from the call partner. Moreover, the distance with respect to the other party to the user is obtained. Then, the call device is configured such that the voice of the other party can be heard from the direction of the other party, for example, from a headphone or a stationary type speaker, and the voice volume of the other party is reduced as the distance between the user and the other party becomes shorter. Play the other party's voice so that becomes larger. Therefore, the user of the call device can easily specify the direction in which the other party is located without inputting his / her position. In addition, by using this call device, when the location of the other party is unknown at a meeting place or the like, the other party can be easily found while talking to the other party. Also, when the distance to the other party is closer, the volume of the other party's voice increases, and when the distance to the other party is longer, the volume of the other party's voice decreases. The position of the other party can be estimated from the direction in which the call is heard and the volume of the voice.
Further, in this configuration, the direction in which the user is facing can be communicated to the call partner with the volume of the user's voice, for example, the sound volume is maximized when the user is facing in the direction in which the call partner is located. With this setting, the call partner can guide the user's direction of travel while listening to the volume of the user's voice. Also, when a plurality of people are talking at the same time, it is possible to talk only with a specific partner without being heard by other parties.

( 2 ) comprising azimuth acquisition means for acquiring azimuth information that the user is facing;
In addition to the position information of the user acquired by the position acquisition means and the position information of the other party of the call received by the communication means, the voice reproduction means is configured to make the relative of the call partner to the user acquired by the direction acquisition means. The voice of the other party is reproduced from the direction in which the other party is present based on the information on the specific direction.

If the sound reproduction means is a speaker provided in the call device, or a headphone or an earphone worn by the user, the direction in which the other party is calling differs depending on the direction in which the user is facing. In this arrangement, even if the change in the direction of the sound reproduction means according to the direction of the Yu chromatography The, based on the relative orientation of the information of the other party to the location information and the user of the call and location information of the user party, Playback can be performed so that the voice of the other party can be heard from the direction of the other party.

( 3 ) The position acquisition means acquires position information using GPS, which is a global positioning system using satellites.

  If GPS is used, the accuracy of the position information of the user can be increased, so that the voice of the other party can be accurately heard from the direction in which the other party is present.

( 4 ) The communication means transmits the vertical angle information designated by the other party,
The voice reproduction means reproduces the voice of the call partner so that the voice can be heard from the vertical angle specified by the call partner in the direction in which the call partner exists based on the vertical angle information sent from the call partner. Features.

  In this configuration, for example, when the call partner has specified that the voice is played from an obliquely downward direction (for example, an obliquely downward 45 degree direction) in order to apologize to the user, the call device has the other party. The voice of the other party can be heard from the direction and diagonally below. Therefore, the user can grasp the feeling of the other party.

  According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

User passing story apparatus, easily without entering their position, it is possible to specify the direction in which the other party. In addition, by using this call device, when the location of the other party is unknown at a meeting place or the like, the other party can be easily found while talking to the other party. Also, as the distance to the other party becomes shorter, the volume of the other party's voice increases, and as the distance to the other party becomes longer, the volume of the other party's voice decreases. The position of the other party can be estimated from the direction in which the call is heard and the volume of the voice. Also, the direction in which the user is facing can be communicated to the other party with the volume of the user's voice. For example, when the user is facing in the direction in which the other party is facing, The other party can guide the direction of the user while listening to the user's volume of the voice. Also, when a plurality of people are talking at the same time, it is possible to talk only with a specific partner without being heard by other parties.

  First, the configuration of a call system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a call system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a call system 1 includes a mobile phone 2 and a mobile phone 3, a mobile phone 4, a fixed phone 5, an Internet phone 6, a radio base station 7a and a radio base station 7b, and a position management device 8 which are call devices. , And the home appliance 9 are connected to the external network 10, respectively.

  The mobile phone 2 and the mobile phone 3 are telephones that can be carried by the user, and can make a one-to-one call with other telephones connected to the external network 10 via the radio base station 7a or the radio base station 7b. You can make calls between other telephones. In addition, the mobile phone 2 and the mobile phone 3 can acquire user position information, user orientation information, call partner position information, and the like. Further, the cellular phone 2 and the cellular phone 3 can reproduce the ringing tone and the voice of the other party from the direction in which the other party is located.

  The mobile phone 4 is a phone that can be carried by the user, and makes a one-to-one call with another phone connected to the external network 10 via the radio base station 7a or the radio base station 7b, or between a plurality of phones. You can talk on the phone and play the ringer and other party's voice in monaural. In addition, the mobile phone 4 can acquire the location information of the mobile phone 4 from the location management device 8 that the location management device 8 has determined from the location information of the radio base station nearest to the mobile phone 4. Further, the location management device 8 can notify the location information of the mobile phone 4 determined as described above to other phones.

  The fixed telephone 5 is a fixed telephone connected to a public switched telephone network that is a part of the external network 10 and has a function of notifying the other party of his / her telephone number.

  The Internet telephone 6 can talk with other telephones via the Internet which is a part of the external network 10.

  The radio base station 7a and the radio base station 7b are used for exchanging signals and data with the mobile phone 2, the mobile phone 3, and the mobile phone 4 by radio waves.

  The location management device 8 manages location information of wireless base stations that can communicate with the mobile phone 2, the mobile phone 3, and the mobile phone 4.

  The home appliance 9 is a household electrical appliance such as a refrigerator or a washing machine. The home appliance 9 has a function of calling a user's telephone when a transmission item occurs and transmitting the transmission item to the user.

  The external network 10 is a communication network for exchanging call voice data, information data, control signals, and the like between connected devices.

  Next, the configurations of the mobile phone 2 and the mobile phone 3 which are call devices according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. The cellular phone 2 includes a position information acquisition unit 11, an orientation information acquisition unit 12, a communication unit 13, a voice input / output unit 14, a microphone 14 a, a speaker 14 b, headphones 14 c having left and right separate speakers, a display unit 15, and an operation unit 16. A storage unit 17 and a control unit 18.

  The cellular phone 3 includes a position information acquisition unit 21, an orientation information acquisition unit 22, a communication unit 23, a voice input / output unit 24, a microphone 24a, a speaker 24b, a headphone 24c having different left and right speakers, a display unit 25, and an operation unit 26. A storage unit 27 and a control unit 28.

  Here, since the mobile phone 2 and the mobile phone 3 have the same configuration, only each part of the mobile phone 2 will be described.

  The position information acquisition unit 11 is for acquiring information for specifying the position of the mobile phone 2. A GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna 11 a is connected to the position information acquisition unit 11 and receives radio waves transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites 31 to identify the position of the mobile phone 2. The position information acquisition unit 11 outputs longitude and latitude data to the control unit 18 as position information. As is well known, GPS is a global positioning system that receives radio waves transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites and identifies positions.

  The position information acquisition unit 11 is not limited to a structure that acquires position information using GPS, but may be a structure using another known technique. For example, the position information acquisition unit 11 may specify the position information of the mobile phone 2 based on the position information of the radio base station 7 a and the radio base station 7 b that communicate with the mobile phone 2. In this case, the cellular phone 2 can use the position information of the nearest radio base station as its own position, or can identify its own position from the positional relationship with a plurality of radio base stations. Moreover, you may make it combine the positional information on GPS and a wireless base station. Of course, the position information acquisition unit 11 may be configured to specify the position of the mobile phone 2 using another position information specifying technique.

  The azimuth information acquisition unit 12 includes a geomagnetic sensor or a gyro sensor, and can specify the direction in which the user using the mobile phone 2 is facing. The azimuth information acquisition unit 12 outputs angle data indicating the difference between the direction set as the reference direction (for example, north) and the direction in which the user is facing to the control unit 18. The azimuth information acquisition unit 12 may be built in the mobile phone 2 or may be provided on the headphone 14c or the like. In addition, the orientation information acquisition unit 12 is preferably configured so as to be able to correct the positional relationship with the user according to the orientation of the mobile phone 2, particularly when incorporated in the mobile phone 3. For example, the mobile phone 2 may be provided with a front position setting switch that can set the positional relationship between the user's orientation (front) and the orientation of the mobile phone 2 by operating the operation unit 16 of the phone. . As a result, the user can cause the mobile phone 2 to correctly detect the direction in which the user is facing by operating the operation unit 16 of the mobile phone 2 after storing the mobile phone 2 in a chest pocket of a shirt or the like.

  The communication unit 13 communicates with the radio base station 7 a and the radio base station 7 b by radio waves and communicates with other devices connected to the external network 10.

  The voice input / output unit 14 processes the voice input from the microphone 14a and the voice data sent from the external network 10 or the control unit 18 and outputs the processed data to the speaker 14b or the headphone 14c.

  The microphone 14a is for inputting a voice such as a user's voice.

  The speaker 14b is provided with a plurality of speakers, and is composed of left and right systems of speakers, and reproduces three-dimensionally voice data and ringing sounds sent from devices connected to the external network 10. The speaker 14b may be a type built in the mobile phone 2, or may be configured to exchange audio data with the audio input / output unit 14 by a wired transmission method or a wireless transmission method with a stationary type speaker. good.

  The headphone 14c has left and right separate speakers (earphones), and three-dimensionally reproduces voice data and ringing sounds sent from devices connected to the external network 10 in the same manner as the speaker 14b.

  The display unit 15 displays items to be transmitted to the user and a telephone number sent from the other party.

  The operation unit 16 is for a user to perform various operations on the mobile phone 2. For example, the user can input the other party's telephone number or set the positional relationship between the user's orientation (front) and the orientation of the mobile phone 2.

  The storage unit 17 stores a program such as voice processing operated by the control unit 18 of the mobile phone 2 and control of each unit, position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 11, direction information acquired by the direction information acquisition unit 12, and communication unit. The location information and the like of the other party sent through the phone is stored. The storage unit 17 stores a telephone number database in which telephone numbers of a plurality of users are registered in association with names, addresses, latitudes and longitudes of IP addresses, IP addresses, and the like.

  The control unit 18 controls the operation of each unit of the mobile phone 2. The control unit 18 also uses the mobile phone 2 based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 11, the direction information acquired by the direction information acquisition unit 12, and the position information of the call partner sent via the communication unit 13. Find the direction of the other party. Further, the control unit 18 controls the balance and volume of the sound output from the speaker 14b and the headphone 14c based on the direction information of the other party.

  The technology disclosed in the sound field effect device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-200957 is preferably applied to the mobile phone 2. Thereby, the user can obtain the same sound field effect as that of the multi-speaker system by using the headphones provided with the two speakers provided in the mobile phone 2. Further, the technique disclosed in the sound image localization apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-23600 may be applied to the mobile phone 2. As a result, the user can obtain a sound field effect in which sound can be heard from any surrounding direction (virtual sound generation position) using headphones equipped with separate left and right speakers.

  Here, the mobile phone 4 is a phone that is different from the call device according to the embodiment of the present invention, but since the operation of making a call with the mobile phone 2 will be described later, its configuration will be described. The cellular phone 4 includes a display unit 31, a communication unit 33, a voice input / output unit 34, a microphone 35, a speaker 36, an operation unit 38, a storage unit 39, and a control unit 40.

  The display unit 31 displays items to be transmitted to the user and a telephone number sent from the other party.

  The communication unit 33 performs radio wave communication with the radio base station 7a and the radio base station 7b, and communicates with other devices connected to the external network 10.

  The voice input / output unit 34 processes voice input from the microphone 35 and voice data sent from the external network 10 and outputs the processed voice data to the speaker 36.

  The microphone 35 is for inputting a voice such as a user's voice. The speaker 36 includes a monaural speaker that reproduces the voice or ringing sound of the other party.

  The operation unit 38 is for the user to perform various operations on the mobile phone 4. For example, the user can input the other party's telephone number or perform another operation.

  The storage unit 39 stores a control program for the control unit 40 of the mobile phone 4, telephone number information of a call partner sent via the communication unit, and the like. The control unit 40 controls the operation of each unit of the mobile phone 4.

  Next, functions and operations of the call device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, the cellular phone 2 will be mainly described. However, since the cellular phone 3 has the same function as the cellular phone 2, it operates in the same manner as the cellular phone 2.

The mobile phone 2 obtains the relative position of the other party with respect to itself based on the position information of the other party, the own position information, and the own direction information (the direction in which the user is facing). The mobile phone 2 acquires the location information of the other party through the communication unit 13. That is,
a. If the other party's phone has a function to identify its location and send location information, identify the location of the other party based on location information sent by the other party during a call or during a call. .

  b. When the other party's telephone is a fixed telephone having a function of transmitting its own telephone number, the telephone number information transmitted by the other party is acquired. The mobile phone 2 is a telephone number database in which the area code of the telephone number or the local area code and the location are associated with each other, and the telephone number and the telephone number registered in association with the latitude / longitude of the user's name / address / address. Since the database is stored in the storage unit 17, the location of the call partner is specified by using (searching) these databases.

  c. In the case of an Internet phone having a function of transmitting the IP address of the other party, the IP address transmitted by the other party is acquired. The cellular phone 2 searches the phone number database and identifies the location of the other party from the location information of the user associated with the IP address information.

  d. In the case where the other party's telephone is a mobile phone that does not have a function of transmitting position information, information on the nearest radio base station in the other party's telephone is obtained from the position management device 8 and the approximate position of the other party is specified. As is well known, the mobile phone communicates with the nearest wireless base station at a predetermined interval, and the telephone company knows the position of the wireless base station that can communicate with each mobile phone, so this information is used.

  e. When the other party's telephone does not notify his / her telephone number and position information, the other party's position cannot be specified. However, when the other party is not notified of the telephone number but has accepted the notification of the position information, the position information of the other party is acquired from the position management device 8 or the like, and the approximate position of the other party is specified.

  The mobile phone 2 includes the location information of the other party's phone acquired as described above, the location information and orientation (orientation) information of the user of the mobile phone 2 acquired by the location information acquisition unit 11 and the orientation information acquisition unit 12, Based on the above, the direction of the opponent and the distance to the opponent are obtained. Then, based on these pieces of information, the other party's voice or own voice is processed and reproduced from the speaker 14b or the headphone 14c.

  The mobile phone 2 has the following voice processing functions.

[Function 1]
The mobile phone 2 can be set so that the ringing sound and the voice of the other party can be heard from the direction of the other party who is calling or the other party. That is, the mobile phone 2 receives radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites 31 at a predetermined time interval or at a predetermined interval by the GPS antenna 11a of the position information acquisition unit 11, and specifies its own position. Further, the mobile phone 2 acquires the orientation of the user based on the azimuth information output from the azimuth information acquisition unit 12 constantly or at a predetermined interval. And the control part 18 memorize | stores this own positional information and azimuth | direction information in the memory | storage part 17, and updates the positional information always or with a predetermined space | interval. When the caller makes a call to the mobile phone 2, the control unit 28 of the mobile phone 3 acquires the location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit 21 and stored in the storage unit 27. Send to. When the mobile phone 2 receives the location information of the mobile phone 3, the mobile phone 2 specifies the direction of the other party based on the location information of the mobile phone 3, its own location information, and its own orientation information.

  The specific method of obtaining the opponent's direction is as follows. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the positional relationship of the telephone. As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 18 of the mobile phone 2 first sets the position of the user (recipient) of the mobile phone 2 as the origin. In addition, the control unit 18 sets the position of the mobile phone 3 to a position relative to the mobile phone 2 based on the position information of the mobile phone 3. And the control part 18 sets the azimuth | direction information acquired in the azimuth | direction information acquisition part 12 to angle (alpha) with a north direction (reference direction). Subsequently, the control unit 18 obtains an angle β with respect to the north direction (reference direction) of the mobile phone 3 from the position of the mobile phone 3 and the position of the mobile phone 2. Then, an angle θ obtained by adding the angles α and β is obtained. This angle θ is the direction of the caller relative to the receiver. The control unit 18 outputs to the voice input / output unit 14 the voice data adjusted so that the ringing tone of the mobile phone 2 can be heard from the direction of the mobile phone 3 based on the angle θ. Then, the voice input / output unit 14 reproduces the voice or call of the other party from the speaker 14b or the headphones 14c of the mobile phone 2 so that the voice can be heard from the direction of the mobile phone 3 with respect to the mobile phone 2.

  At this time, the control unit 18 of the mobile phone 2 continuously detects the direction in which the receiver is directed by the azimuth information acquiring unit 12, and changes the position (direction) where the ringing tone can be heard based on this information. For example, when a ringing tone is heard from the left side of the receiver and the receiver rotates his / her body in the left direction, the control unit 18 detects this movement by the direction information acquisition unit 12 and Audio processing is performed so that the audible position moves from the left side of the user to the front. Note that, when only the function 1 is set, the cellular phone 2 performs only the audio processing for changing the position where the audio can be heard, and does not perform the audio processing for changing the volume described later. Thus, since the mobile phone 2 can be heard from the direction in which the other party is present, the ringing sound and the voice of the other party can be heard, so that the user of the mobile phone 2 can easily identify the direction in which the other party is present.

  When the speaker 14b is a stationary type, the orientation of the speaker 14b is fixed regardless of the orientation of the user. Therefore, by storing the orientation of the speaker 14b in the storage unit 17 in advance, By acquiring the position information of the mobile phone 3, it is possible to reproduce the voice or ringing tone of the other party from the relative direction of the mobile phone 3 relative to the mobile phone 2.

[Function 2]
The mobile phone 2 can be set so that the volume transmitted from the other party changes according to the distance from the other party who made the call or the other party. That is, the control unit 18 of the mobile phone 2 obtains the distance from the mobile phone 3 based on the location information transmitted from the counterpart mobile phone 3 and the location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit 11. Then, the control unit 18 performs voice processing based on a preset calculation formula, and outputs the other party's voice from the speaker 14 b or the headphone 14 c via the voice input / output unit 14. For example, in accordance with the distance to the opponent, the audio processing is performed so that the volume increases as the distance to the opponent decreases. In this case, when the users who are talking are gradually approaching, naturally the voice of the other party is increased. Therefore, when meeting with the other party, setting this mode allows you to hear the other party's voice from the direction of the other party, and the voice of the other party increases as you approach the other party, so the user can easily find the other party be able to.

[Function 3]
The mobile phone 2 can be set so that the volume transmitted from the other party changes according to the direction of the user of the mobile phone 2 with respect to the direction of the other party who is calling or the other party. For example, as the user of the mobile phone 2 changes the direction in which the other party's voice can be heard during a call, the other party's voice gradually becomes louder, and the volume is maximized when facing the other party. When set so that, when the user of the mobile phone 2 turns in the direction in which the voice of the other party is heard, the control unit 18 detects the direction change by the direction information acquisition unit 12. And the control part 18 performs an audio | voice process based on the preset formula, and controls the magnitude of an other party's audio | voice according to a user's direction. When the user rotates his / her body in the direction in which the voice can be heard, the other party's voice gradually becomes louder, and the voice that can be heard when facing the direction in which the other party's voice can be heard becomes maximum. Thereby, the user can obtain a feeling that he / she is directly talking to the other party.

  Here, when the functions 1 to 3 are set in the mobile phone 2, the control unit 18 of the mobile phone 2 performs voice processing based on the following calculation formula, for example.

If the basic volume is v, the distance to the opponent is D, and the relative angle to the opponent is θ (−π <θ <π),
Playback volume Vo = (v / D) · | cos (θ / 2) |
Adjust the volume based on the formula.

  Further, in the mobile phone 2, since the voice of the user of the mobile phone 2 becomes difficult to hear by another party by facing the direction of the specific party during a call at the same time as a plurality of other parties, it is possible to talk secretly only with the specific party. Can do.

[Function 4]
The mobile phone 2 can be set so that the volume of the audio data transmitted to the other party changes according to the direction of the user of the mobile phone 2 with respect to the direction of the other party who is calling or the other party.

  For example, when a telephone call is made from a user of the mobile phone 4 (hereinafter referred to as a caller) to a user of the mobile phone 2 (hereinafter referred to as a receiver), the mobile phone 2 first includes a location management device. The information of the base station closest to the mobile phone 4 is acquired from 8 and the position of the mobile phone 4 is specified. Then, the control unit 18 of the mobile phone 2 performs voice processing so that the volume of audio data transmitted to the mobile phone 4 is maximized when the receiver faces the mobile phone 4 during a call. Further, the control unit 18 performs voice processing so that the volume of the voice data to be transmitted to the mobile phone 4 becomes smaller as the receiver faces a different direction from the mobile phone 4. By setting to perform such processing, the direction in which the receiver is facing can be communicated to the caller who is the other party of the voice of the receiver by the volume of the receiver's voice. It is possible to guide the direction of the receiver while listening to the volume level. In addition, when the user of the mobile phone 2 is talking to a plurality of other parties at the same time, the user can feel as if he / she is calling a specific person by using this function.

  Further, when the mobile phone 2 (reception side) makes a call with the mobile phone 3 (transmission side), the mobile phone 2 (reception side) is based on the location information and direction information of the call partner sent from the mobile phone 3. It is also possible to set so that the side) performs volume adjustment processing. That is, information such as the direction in which the sender is facing can be transmitted from the transmission side to the reception side, and volume adjustment can be performed on the reception side. In this case, the volume adjustment function can be switched on / off only on the receiving side.

  Further, when the user of the fixed telephone 5 makes a telephone call to the user of the mobile telephone 2, the mobile telephone 2 obtains the position information of the fixed telephone 5 based on the area code and the local code from the position management device 8. By setting to obtain, the same processing as in the case of the mobile phone 4 can be performed.

[Function 5]
The cellular phones 2 and 3 can designate the angle at which the voice is transmitted so that the voice transmitted to the other party or the calling party can be heard from a predetermined direction above and below. In addition, it is possible to reproduce the voice so that it can be heard from the designated direction from the other party's mobile phone. For example, when the user of the mobile phone 3 calls the user of the mobile phone 2, the user of the mobile phone 2 can hear his / her voice from the direction of 45 degrees diagonally below the other party. The direction designation switch of the second operation unit 16 is operated. When the control unit 18 of the mobile phone 2 detects this operation, the mobile phone 3 transmits a predetermined signal for instructing the playback so that the sound can be heard from a direction of 45 degrees obliquely downward. When the control unit 28 of the mobile phone 3 receives this signal, the control unit 28 performs audio processing so that the transmitted audio data can be heard from a direction of 45 degrees diagonally downward, and outputs the audio data to the audio input / output unit 24. Therefore, the user of the mobile phone 3 can experience that the other party's voice can be heard from the speaker 24b or the headphone 24c in the direction in which the other party is present and obliquely below 45 degrees.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the direction designation switch. As the direction designation switch, as shown in FIG. 3A, an upward switch 116a for moving the direction in which the sound can be heard upward, and a downward switch 116b for moving the direction in which the sound can be heard downward. The direction designation switch 116 may be provided so that the vertical angle at which the audio data can be heard can be designated. In addition, FIG.
As shown in (B), a numeric keypad for inputting a telephone number or the like may be substituted for the direction designation switch. For example, the key 2 of the numeric keypad 117 may be set as an upward switch and the key 8 of the numeric keypad 117 may be set as a downward switch so that the vertical angle at which audio data can be heard can be set. Furthermore, the direction designation switch may be configured by a touch panel, a jog dial, or the like.

  When the user wants to set his / her voice to be heard at an angle of 45 degrees below the other party, when the user operates the down switch 116b of the direction designation switch 116 in the operation unit 16 of the mobile phone 2, the voice is displayed along with the position information on this side. Is transmitted so as to be heard from an angle of 45 degrees diagonally below the other party. When the other party is also using the telephone of the present invention and the other party is facing in a different direction from the caller, the other party's mobile phone 3 is 45 degrees below the receiver in the direction of the caller. The voice of the caller can be heard from the direction. By using this function, the user can convey his feelings to the other party when apologizing to the other party or instructing the other party.

  As described above, the telephone of the present invention has a plurality of functions, and can set the ringing tone and the volume of the other party's voice to change according to the situation.

  Next, an operation at the time of starting a call by the call device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, a case where a call is made between the mobile phone 2 and the mobile phone 3 which are call devices according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, a case where the user B of the mobile phone 3 makes a call to the user A of the mobile phone 2 will be described. Further, it is assumed that user A and user B wear headphones 14c and headphones 24c, respectively. Further, the mobile phone 2 and the mobile phone 3 transmit user position information and direction information to the telephone of the other party as needed.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation when a call is made between the call devices according to the embodiment of the present invention, and shows a case where the user B of the mobile phone 3 calls the user A of the mobile phone 2. ing. In the description based on the flowchart of FIG. 4, the transmitting-side mobile phone transmits a sound by adjusting the transmission volume according to the relative position information between the direction the user faces and the other party, and the receiving-side mobile phone A case will be described in which the direction in which the voice is heard is adjusted based on the relative position information between the user and the other party and information on the direction in which the user faces (direction information).

  Similar processing is performed when a call is made from the mobile phone 2 to the mobile phone 3. Also, in the figure, only one side speaks (half duplex call), but it is naturally possible for both parties to speak simultaneously (full duplex call). Further, it is assumed that volume adjustment is performed by both mobile phones. In addition, the user's position and orientation (orientation) are always measured during a call at times other than the timing shown in the figure, and the user's position information is transmitted to the telephone of the other party. Also, at times other than the timing shown in the figure, during the call, the functions 1 to 5 are always checked for on / off, and this information is transmitted to the telephone of the other party. Further, in the following description, the user orientation information refers to information on the orientation (direction) that the user is facing.

  The user B inputs the user A's telephone number by operating the operation unit 26 of the mobile phone 3 in order to talk to the user A. When detecting the operation of the operation unit 26 (s1), the control unit 28 confirms whether or not the functions 1 to 5 are turned on in the mobile phone 3 (s2). When the functions 1 to 5 are off, the control unit 28 transmits device information to that effect to the mobile phone 2 (s4). On the other hand, when the functions 1 to 5 are on in step s2, the control unit 28 acquires the position information of the user B (mobile phone 3) and the direction information of the user B (s3). Further, the control unit 28 has a function of reproducing the other party's voice from the direction in which the other party is present, and transmits device information such as that this function is turned on to the mobile phone 2 together with the position information. Then, the mobile phone 2 is called (s4).

  When the control unit 18 of the mobile phone 2 receives the information transmitted from the mobile phone 3 (s10), the control unit 18 checks whether or not the functions 1 to 5 are turned on in the mobile phone 2, and these functions are turned off. If this is the case (s11), the ring tone is reproduced without performing voice processing until the user A answers the phone (s12).

On the other hand, when the functions 1 to 5 are on in step s11, the control unit 18 acquires the position information of the user A from the position information acquisition unit 11, and acquires the direction information of the user A from the direction information acquisition unit 12. To do. Further, the control unit 18 includes functions 1 to 5 including a function of reproducing the other party's voice from the direction in which the other party is present, and obtains device information such that these functions are turned on (s13). . Then, the control unit 18 determines the mobile phone 2 from the position information of the user B and the position information and direction information of the user A.
The relative direction and distance of the mobile phone 3 (user B) with respect to (user A) and the orientation of the user A with respect to the mobile phone 3 are obtained. Then, the control unit 18 adjusts the volume and the left / right balance so that the ring tone can be heard from the relative direction of the mobile phone 3 (s14), and causes the headphone 14c to reproduce the ring tone via the voice input / output unit 14 (s15). ). In addition, the control unit 18 transmits the location information and device information of the user A to the mobile phone 3 via the communication unit 13 (s16).

  When the control unit 28 of the mobile phone 3 receives the position information and device information of the user A via the communication unit 23, the control unit 28 stores the information in the storage unit 27 (s5).

  The user of the mobile phone 2 starts speaking when answering the phone (s17). At this time, the control unit 18 confirms whether or not the functions 1 to 5 are turned on, and if the functions 1 to 5 are turned off (s18), the voice of the user A is processed. Without being transmitted to the mobile phone 3 via the communication unit 13 (s20).

  On the other hand, when the functions 1 to 5 are on in step s18, the control unit 18 determines the relative direction and distance of the mobile phone 3 (user B) with respect to the mobile phone 2 (user A) and the mobile phone 3 of the user A (user A). The volume and the left / right balance of the voice of user A are adjusted based on the orientation information with respect to user B) (s19), and the voice of user A is transmitted to mobile phone 3 via communication unit 13 (s20).

  When the control unit 28 of the mobile phone 3 receives the voice of the user A via the communication unit 23 (s6), the control unit 28 checks whether or not the functions 1 to 5 are turned on and the functions 1 to 5 are turned off. If so (s7), the voice of the user A is reproduced on the headphones 24c via the voice input / output unit 24 without performing voice processing (s9). On the other hand, when the functions 1 to 5 are turned on in step s7, the control unit 28 determines the relative position and distance between the user A and the user B obtained from the position information of the user B and the position information of the user A. The volume and the left / right balance of the voice of the user A are adjusted based on the information of the user B and the direction information of the user B (s8). Then, the control unit 28 causes the sound headphone 24c to reproduce the voice of the user A via the voice input / output unit 24 (s9).

  As described above, the mobile phone 2 and the mobile phone 3 output sound by changing the direction in which the sound can be heard and the volume according to the distance and direction from the other party according to the operation of the user.

  Next, the mobile phone on the transmitting side transmits the user's location information and orientation information without adjusting the volume of the voice, and the mobile phone on the receiving side transmits the location information / direction information of the user and the location of the other party. A description will be given of a case where the direction and volume of sound can be adjusted based on the information / orientation information. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining an operation different from that in FIG. 4 in the case where a call is made between the call devices according to the embodiment of the present invention, and the user B of the mobile phone 3 calls the user A of the mobile phone 2. It shows the case where it is applied.

  Similar to FIG. 4, the same processing is performed when a call is made from the mobile phone 2 to the mobile phone 3. Also, in the figure, only one side speaks (half duplex call), but it is naturally possible for both parties to speak simultaneously (full duplex call). Further, it is assumed that volume adjustment is performed by both mobile phones. In addition, the user's position and orientation (orientation) are always measured during a call at times other than the timing shown in the figure, and the user's position information is transmitted to the telephone of the other party. Also, at times other than the timing shown in the figure, during the call, the functions 1 to 5 are always checked for on / off, and this information is transmitted to the telephone of the other party.

  The user B inputs the user A's telephone number by operating the operation unit 26 of the mobile phone 3 in order to talk to the user A. When the control unit 28 detects the operation of the operation unit 26 (s21), the control unit 28 checks whether or not the functions 1 to 5 are turned on in the mobile phone 3 (s22). When the functions 1 to 5 are off, the control unit 28 transmits device information to that effect to the mobile phone 2 (s24). On the other hand, when the functions 1 to 5 are turned on in step s2, the control unit 28 acquires the position information and direction information of the user B (mobile phone 3) (s23). Further, the control unit 28 has a function of reproducing the other party's voice from the direction in which the other party is present, and device information such as that this function is turned on is transmitted to the mobile phone 2 together with the position information and the direction information. Then, the mobile phone 2 is called (s24).

  When the mobile phone 2 receives the information transmitted from the mobile phone 3 (s30), the mobile phone 2 checks whether or not the functions 1 to 5 are on in the mobile phone 2, and if these functions are off. (S31), without performing voice processing, the ring tone is reproduced as it is until the user A answers the phone (s32).

  On the other hand, when the functions 1 to 5 are on in step s31, the control unit 18 acquires the position information of the user A from the position information acquisition unit 11 and acquires the direction information from the direction information acquisition unit 12. Further, the control unit 18 has functions 1 to 5 such as a function of reproducing the other party's voice from the direction in which the other party is present, and acquires device information such as that these functions are turned on (s33). Then, the control unit 18 determines the relative direction and distance of the mobile phone 3 (user B) with respect to the mobile phone 2 (user A) and the user A based on the location information / direction information of user B and the location information / direction information of user A. And the relative orientation of the user B is obtained. Then, the control unit 18 adjusts the volume and the left / right balance so that a ring tone having a volume corresponding to the direction of the user B can be heard from the relative direction of the mobile phone 3 (s34), and then via the voice input / output unit 14. The ring tone is reproduced on the headphones 14c (s35). In addition, the control unit 18 transmits the position information, orientation information, and device information of the user A to the mobile phone 3 via the communication unit 13 (s36).

  When the control unit 28 of the mobile phone 3 receives the position information, the direction information, and the device information of the user A via the communication unit 23, the control unit 28 stores these pieces of information in the storage unit 27 (s25).

  The user of the mobile phone 2 starts speaking when answering the phone (s37). The control unit 18 transmits the voice of the user A to the mobile phone 3 as it is through the communication unit 13 without performing voice processing (s38).

  When the control unit 28 of the mobile phone 3 receives the voice of the user A via the communication unit 23 (s26), the control unit 28 checks whether or not the functions 1 to 5 are turned on, and the functions 1 to 5 are turned off. If so (s27), the voice of the user A is reproduced on the headphones 24c via the voice input / output unit 24 without performing voice processing (s29). On the other hand, when the functions 1 to 5 are turned on in step s27, the control unit 28 determines the voice of the user A based on the position information / direction information of the user B and the position information / direction information of the user A. The volume and the left / right balance are adjusted (s28). Then, the control unit 28 causes the headphone 24c to reproduce the voice of the user A via the voice input / output unit 24 (s29).

  As described above, the mobile phone 2 and the mobile phone 3 output sound by changing the direction and volume of sound heard depending on the distance and direction of the other party according to the user's operation. The volume and left / right balance can be adjusted only on the side.

  Next, a case where a call is made between the mobile phone 2 which is a call device according to the embodiment of the present invention and the mobile phone 4 which does not have the function of the call device will be described. 6 and 7 are flowcharts for explaining the operation when a call is made between the call device according to the embodiment of the present invention and a telephone that does not have the function of the call device.

  Similar to FIGS. 4 and 5, similar processing is performed when a call is made from the mobile phone 2 to the mobile phone 4. Also, in the figure, only one side speaks (half duplex call), but it is naturally possible for both parties to speak simultaneously (full duplex call). Furthermore, the sound volume and the left / right balance can be adjusted only by the mobile phone 2. In addition, the user's position and orientation (orientation) are always measured during a call at times other than the timing shown in the figure, and voice processing of the voice transmitted to the telephone of the other party is performed. Also, at times other than the timing shown in the figure, the functions 1 to 5 are always checked for on or off during a call.

  In the following description, a case where the user C of the mobile phone 4 makes a call to the user A of the mobile phone 2 will be described. The user C of the mobile phone 4 is the sender and the user A of the mobile phone 2 is the receiver. Called. Further, it is assumed that the user A is wearing the headphones 14c. The mobile phone 4 is assumed to input and output audio with a monaural microphone 35 and a monaural speaker 36. Furthermore, although the mobile phone 4 cannot directly acquire its own location information, it acquires location information based on the location information of the radio base station closest to the mobile phone 4 from the location management device 8 and indirectly Get location information. The location management device 8 is set so that the location information of the radio base station closest to the cellular phone 4 is transmitted as the location information of the cellular phone 4 to the other party of the cellular phone 4.

  The user C makes a call to the mobile phone 2 by inputting the telephone number of the user A from the operation unit 38 of the mobile phone 4 in order to make a call with the user A. When detecting this operation, the control unit 40 of the mobile phone 4 performs processing for making a call with the mobile phone 2 via the communication unit 33, and transmits a calling signal to the mobile phone 2 (s41). At this time, the location management device 8 acquires the location information of the nearest radio base station 7b with which the cellular phone 4 is communicating as the location information of the cellular phone 4, and transmits this information to the cellular phone 2 (s51). ). The location management device 8 transmits the location information of the nearest radio base station with which the cellular phone 4 is communicating until the call with the cellular phone 4 is terminated to the cellular phone 2 at any time. When the nearest radio base station is changed because the user C is moving, the location information of the radio base station is transmitted.

  When the communication unit 13 receives the calling signal transmitted from the cellular phone 4 and the location information of the cellular phone 4 transmitted from the location management device 8 (s61), the control unit 18 of the cellular phone 2 functions in the cellular phone 2. It is confirmed whether or not 1 to 5 are on, and if these functions are off (s62), the incoming call sound is directly processed without performing the voice processing and the headphones 14c via the voice input / output unit 14. Then, it is played until the user A answers the phone (s65).

  On the other hand, when the functions 1 to 5 are on in step s62, the control unit 18 acquires the position information of the user A from the position information acquisition unit 11 and acquires the direction information from the direction information acquisition unit 12. Further, the control unit 18 includes functions 1 to 5 including a function of reproducing the other party's voice from the direction in which the other party is present, and obtains device information such that these functions are turned on (s63). . And the control part 18 calculates | requires the relative direction and distance of the mobile telephone 3 (user B) with respect to the mobile telephone 2 (user A) from the positional information on the user C, and the positional information and azimuth | direction information of the user A. Then, the control unit 18 adjusts the volume and the left / right balance so that a ringtone having a volume corresponding to the distance can be heard from the relative direction of the mobile phone 3 (s64), and sends the ringtone through the voice input / output unit 14 to the headphones. 14c is reproduced (s65).

As shown in FIG. 7, the user of the mobile phone 2 starts speaking when answering the phone (s66). At this time, the control unit 18 confirms whether or not the functions 1 to 5 are turned on. If the functions 1 to 5 are turned off (s67), the voice of the user A is processed. Without being transmitted to the mobile phone 3 via the communication unit 13 (s69).

  On the other hand, when the functions 1 to 5 are on in step s67, the control unit 18 adjusts the volume and left / right balance of the voice of the user A based on the position information of the user C and the position information / orientation information of the user A. After adjusting (s68), the voice of the user A is transmitted to the mobile phone 4 via the communication unit 13 (s69).

  When receiving the voice of the user A via the communication unit 33 (s42), the control unit 40 of the mobile phone 4 causes the speaker 36 to reproduce the voice of the user A via the voice input / output unit 34 (s43). The user C starts speaking toward the microphone 35 (s44), and the control unit 40 transmits the voice of the user C via the communication unit 33 (s45).

  At this time, the location management device 8 acquires the location information of the nearest radio base station 7b with which the cellular phone 4 is communicating as the location information of the cellular phone 4, and transmits this information to the cellular phone 2 (s52). ).

  When the communication unit 13 receives the voice data of the user C transmitted from the cellular phone 4 and the location information of the cellular phone 4 transmitted from the location management device 8 (s70), the control unit 18 of the cellular phone 2 receives the cellular phone 4 data. 2, it is confirmed whether or not the functions 1 to 5 are on. If these functions are off (s71), the voice of the user C is reproduced on the headphones 14c via the voice input / output unit 14 without performing voice processing (s74).

  On the other hand, when the functions 1 to 5 are turned on in step s71, the control unit 18 acquires the position information of the user A from the position information acquisition unit 11 and acquires the direction information from the direction information acquisition unit 12. . Further, the control unit 18 includes functions 1 to 5 including a function of reproducing the other party's voice from the direction in which the other party is present, and obtains device information such that these functions are turned on (s72). . Then, the control unit 18 adjusts the volume and left / right balance of the voice of the user A based on the position information of the user C and the position information / azimuth information of the user A (s73). Then, the control unit 28 causes the headphone 24c to reproduce the voice of the user A via the voice input / output unit 24 (s74).

  As described above, even when the mobile phone 2 makes a call with a telephone that does not have a function of reproducing the other party's voice from the direction in which the other party is present, the voice can be heard depending on the distance and direction from the other party according to the user's operation. Output sound by changing direction and volume. Moreover, the sound of the volume according to the direction which the user A of the mobile telephone 2 faces is transmitted to the telephone of the other party.

  In the description based on FIGS. 6 and 7, the case where a call is made between the mobile phone 2 and the mobile phone 4 has been described as an example. However, the case where a call is made between the fixed phone 5 or the Internet phone 6 and the mobile phone 2 is also described. Similar actions and effects can be obtained.

  In the above description, the case where the users using the telephones talk with each other has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can also be applied to the case of transmission to other telephones. Some household electrical appliances use a sound such as a buzzer to inform a user that processing has been completed or a problem has occurred. However, since such home appliances are set to make a loud sound, they may cause nearby noise particularly at night. Therefore, the noise problem can be solved by applying the present invention in such a case. In addition, since the telephone ringing tone is set so that it can be heard from the direction of the home appliance, the user can easily determine which home appliance from which the ringing tone is heard.

  The home appliance device 9 includes a communication unit 41 and a control unit 42. When there is a matter to be transmitted to the user, the control unit 42 uses the communication unit 41 to make a call to the user's mobile phone 2. Is set. At this time, the home appliance 9 is set so as to transmit position information in advance.

  When the control unit 42 of the home appliance 9 detects that a problem has occurred in the processing, the control unit 42 makes a call from the communication unit 41 to the user's mobile phone 2. When the user receives a telephone call from the home appliance device 9, the ringing sound is heard from the direction of the installation location of the home appliance device 9, so that the home appliance device of the calling source can be specified. Note that the mobile phone 2 and the home appliance 9 may be provided with a communication unit having a wireless communication function such as Bluetooth, and directly communicate using the wireless communication function without using the external network 40.

  In addition, by setting the mobile phone 2 so that the volume increases as it approaches the calling home appliance, the user can proceed in a direction in which a ringing tone can be heard even when a plurality of home appliances are adjacent to each other. In this way, it is possible to easily identify the home appliance device that is the calling source.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a call system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed the positional relationship of a telephone. It is the figure which showed the structural example of the direction designation | designated switch. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement in the case of a telephone call between the communication apparatuses which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement different from FIG. 4 at the time of carrying out a telephone call between the call apparatuses which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement in the case of making a telephone call between the telephone apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and the telephone which is not equipped with the function of this telephone apparatus. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement in the case of making a telephone call between the telephone apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and the telephone which is not equipped with the function of this telephone apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

    1-call system, 2,3-cell phone, 4-cell phone, 5-fixed phone, 6-Internet phone, 7a, 7b-wireless base station, 8-position management device, 9-home appliance, 10-external network

Claims (4)

Position acquisition means for acquiring user position information;
A communication means for transmitting the user's voice and the user's position information to the call partner, and receiving the voice sent from the call partner and the position information of the call partner;
Based on the location information of the user and the location information of the call partner, the direction of the call partner with respect to the user and the distance to the call partner are obtained, and the sound is heard from this direction, and according to the distance to the call partner to change the volume of voice of the call partner Te, and audio reproduction means for reproducing the voice of the call partner,
Equipped with a,
The communication device, wherein the communication means changes the volume of the voice of the user according to the direction in which the user is facing, and transmits the communication device. Comprising azimuth obtaining means for obtaining information of the azimuth facing the user,
In addition to the position information of the user acquired by the position acquisition means and the position information of the communication partner received by the communication means, the voice reproduction means is based on the direction information acquired by the direction acquisition means, The call device according to claim 1, wherein the call partner's voice is reproduced from a relative direction of the call partner with respect to a direction in which the user is facing. Wherein the position acquisition unit communication apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 acquires position information using the GPS is a global positioning system by satellite. The communication means transmits and receives the vertical angle information designated by the call partner,
The voice reproduction means reproduces the voice of the other party based on the vertical angle information sent from the other party so that the voice of the other party can be heard from the vertical angle specified by the other party in the direction in which the other party is present. 4. The communication device according to any one of 1 to 3 .

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