Patent ID: 8135143
Filing Date: 2012-03-13
Classification: H04R

Abstract:
1. A remote conference apparatus, comprising: a speaker array, including a plurality of speakers, which emit a sound upward or downward; a first microphone array and a second microphone array which are provided to pick up the sounds from both sides of the speaker array in a longitudinal direction of the speaker array; a first beam generating portion operatively arranged to generate a plurality of first sound collecting beams, the first sound collecting beams operatively arranged to place focal points on a plurality of first sound collecting areas decided previously in the first microphone array side respectively, by applying delay processes to sound signals that microphones of the first microphone array pick up respectively with a predetermined amount of delay respectively and synthesizing the delayed sound signals; a second beam generating portion operatively arranged to generate a plurality of second sound collecting beams, the second sound collecting beams operatively arranged to place focal points on a plurality of second sound collecting areas decided previously in the second microphone array side respectively, by applying delay processes to sound signals that microphones of the second microphone array pick up respectively with a predetermined amount of delay respectively and synthesizing the delayed sound signals; a difference signal calculating portion operatively arranged to calculate difference signals of the sound collecting beams, that correspond to pairs of sound collecting areas in mutually symmetrical positions with respect to a centerline of the speaker array in the longitudinal direction, out of the sound collecting beams that are generated toward the plurality of first sound collecting areas and the plurality of second sound collecting areas, respectively; a first sound source position estimating portion operatively arranged to select a pair of sound collecting areas in which a signal strength of the difference signal is large; and a second sound source position estimating portion operatively arranged to select a sound collecting area corresponding to the sound collecting beam whose strength is larger from the pair of sound collecting areas selected by the first sound source position estimating portion and operatively arranged to estimate that a sound source position is present in the selected sound collecting area.