Patent ID: 8416976

Claim:
A voice conference device comprising: a circular plate-like case; a plurality of unidirectional microphones arranged along a first circle of the case and spaced at predetermined spacing along the first circle; a plurality of speakers arranged along a second circle of the case and spaced at equal intervals along the second circle; a voice collecting portion, including adding, delaying, and level detecting circuits; a communication controlling portion, including an input/output interface; and a voice emitting portion, including a mixing circuit, wherein the voice collecting portion: generates voice collecting beam signals from voice collecting signals picked up by the plurality of unidirectional microphones in plural different voice collecting directions respectively; selects the voice collecting beam signal based on the voice emitted from a conferee from the formed voice collecting beam signals; and detects voice collecting direction information corresponding to the selected voice collecting beam signal, wherein the communication controlling portion: generates voice communication data having the voice collecting beam signal selected by the voice collecting portion and the voice collecting direction information detected by the voice collecting portion; then transmits the voice communication data to another voice conference device on an opposite side; acquires the voice collecting direction information and the voice collecting beam signal contained in the voice communication data received from the another voice conference device on the opposite side; and supplies a voice-emitting voice signal produced from the acquired voice collecting beam signal and the acquired voice collecting direction information acquired from the another voice conference device on the opposite side to the voice emitting portion, wherein the voice emitting portion produces and supplies voice emitting signals to the plurality of speakers, based on the voice-emitting voice signal from the communication controlling portion and the voice collecting direction information transmitted from the another voice conference device on the opposite side, wherein the first and second circles and the circular plate-like case are concentrically aligned, and wherein each of voice emitting directions of the plurality of speakers is directed outwardly away from a center of the second circle.