# US 11,445,314 B2 · Control apparatus, computer readable medium and microphone system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,445,314 B2 - Document ID: US11445314B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/922,298 - Filed: 2020-07-07 - Published: 2021-01-14 - Granted: 2022-09-13 - Earliest claimed: 2019-07-08 - Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Audio-Technica - Applicants: Audio-Technica Corporation - Inventors: Hiroki Satoh; Alexander Lepges - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11445314B2 ## CPC - H04R 27/00: Public address systems (circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; {monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007}; amplifiers H03F) - G10L 25/60: for measuring the quality of voice signals - H04R 1/403: {loud-speakers} - H04R 3/12: for distributing signals to two or more loudspeakers {(specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407)} - H04R 29/002: {Loudspeaker arrays} - H04R 2227/001: Adaptation of signal processing in PA systems in dependence of presence of noise - H04R 2420/07: Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones - H04R: LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS (producing sounds with frequency not determined by supply frequency G10K) - G10L: SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING ## Abstract A control device is a control device for controlling a plurality of receiver devices for receiving a sound signal transmitted from a wireless microphone by radio, the control device includes an information acquisition part that acquires quality information indicating a quality of the sound signal received by the plurality of receiver devices, and a determination part that determines, on the basis of the quality of the sound signal indicated by the quality information, a non-output receiver device that does not cause a speaker to output the sound based on the sound signal out of the plurality of receiver devices. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A control device for controlling a plurality of receiver devices that are located at different places, wherein each respective receiver device (i) receives a sound signal transmitted from a wireless microphone by radio, (ii) is connected to a respective speaker from among a plurality of speakers, and (iii) is capable of causing the respective speaker to output sound based on the sound signal, the control device comprising: an information acquisition part that acquires quality information indicating a quality of the sound signal received by the plurality of receiver devices; and a determination part that determines from among the plurality of output receiver devices, on a basis of the quality of the sound signal indicated by the quality information, an output receiver device that causes the respective speaker to output the sound based on the signal and a non-output receiver device that does not cause the respective speaker to output the sound based on the sound signal, wherein the determination part switches a status such that a first receiver device of the plurality of receiver devices causes the respective speaker to output the sound and a second receiver device of the plurality of receiver devices does not cause the respective speaker to output the sound on a condition where (i) a first quality of the sound signal received by the first receiver device is better than a second quality of the sound signal received by the second receiver device and (ii) a difference between the first quality and the second quality is larger than a difference threshold, the first receiver device being the non-output receiver device not outputting the sound based on the sound signal, and the second receiver device being the output receiver device outputting the sound based on the sound signal. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, further comprising: a transmission control part that transmits, to the non-output receiver device, control information for setting the non-output receiver device to a mute mode that does not cause a speaker connected to the non-output receiver device to output a sound based on the sound signal. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, further comprising: a transmission control part that transmits, to the output receiver device, control information for setting the output receiver device to an output mode that causes the respective speaker to output a sound based on the sound signal. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, further comprising: a transmission control part that transmits, to a repeater that outputs the sound signal outputted by at least any one of the plurality of receiver devices to a respective speaker, information for specifying a receiver device that causes a speaker to output a sound, out of the plurality of receiver devices. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, further comprising: an input receiving part that receives an input of one or more criteria for the determination part to determine the non-output receiver device on the basis of the quality, wherein the determination part determines the non-output receiver device by comparing the quality to the one or more criteria. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, wherein the determination part switches the status such that the first receiver device causes the respective speaker to output the sound and the second receiver device does not cause the respective speaker to output the sound, if a time corresponding to a duration threshold passes after a time when the first quality becomes better than the second quality and the difference between the first quality and the second quality becomes larger than the difference threshold. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, further comprising: an input receiving part that receives an input of a usage mode of the wireless microphone, wherein the determination part determines the non-output receiver device by comparing the quality to one or more criteria determined on a basis of the usage mode. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The control device according to claim 7, wherein the determination part uses a first criterion of the one or more criteria for not frequently causing the switching of the receiver device that outputs the sound signal in a first usage mode, and uses a second criterion of the one or more criteria, with which the receiver device that outputs the sound signal is easier to be switched than with the first criterion, in a second usage mode that differs from the first usage mode. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The control device according to claim 8, wherein the determination part, in the first usage mode, makes a first difference threshold larger than a second difference threshold in the second usage mode, the first difference threshold being a difference between the qualities of the sound signals respectively received by the two receiver devices, required to switch the receiver device that outputs the sound signal. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The control device according to claim 9, wherein the determination part, in the first usage mode, makes a first duration threshold longer than a second duration threshold in the second usage mode, the first duration threshold being a duration of a state where a difference, required to switch the receiver device that outputs the sound signal, between the qualities of the sound signals respectively received by the two receiver devices is larger than the first difference threshold and the second duration threshold being a duration of a state where a difference, required to switch the receiver device that outputs the sound signal, between the qualities of the sound signals respectively received by the two receiver devices is larger than the second difference threshold. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, wherein the determination part switches the status such that the first receiver device causes the respective speaker to output the sound and the second receiver device does not cause the respective speaker to output the sound on a condition where the first quality is equal to or higher than the quality threshold. ### Claim 12 A control device for controlling a plurality of receiver devices that are located at different places, wherein each respective receiver device (i) receives a sound signal transmitted from a wireless microphone by radio, (ii) is connected to a respective speaker from among a plurality of speakers, and (iii) is capable of causing the respective speaker to output sound based on the sound signal, the control device comprising: an information acquisition part that acquires quality information indicating a quality of the sound signal received by the plurality of receiver devices; and a determination part that determines from among the plurality of output receiver devices, on a basis of the quality of the sound signal indicated by the quality information, an output receiver device that causes the respective speaker to output the sound based on the signal and a non-output receiver device that does not cause the respective speaker to output the sound based on the sound signal, wherein the information acquisition part further acquires permission/rejection information set in the wireless microphone, the permission/rejection information indicating whether to permit a switching of the non-output receiver device, and the determination part determines the non-output receiver device on a basis of the quality of the sound signal if the permission/rejection information indicates permission to switch the non-output receiver device, and does not determine the non-output receiver device on the basis of the quality of the sound signal if the permission/rejection information does not indicate permission to switch the non-output receiver device. ### Claim 13 A microphone system comprising: a wireless microphone; a plurality of receiver devices that are located at different places, wherein each respective receiver device (i) receives a sound signal transmitted by the wireless microphone by radio, (ii) is connected to a respective speaker from among a plurality of speakers, and (iii) is capable of causing the respective speaker to output sound based on the sound signal; and a control device that controls the plurality of receiver devices, wherein the control device includes: an information acquisition part that acquires quality information indicating a quality of the sound signal received by the plurality of receiver devices, and a determination part that determines from among the plurality of output receiver devices, on a basis of the quality of the sound signal indicated by the quality information, an output receiver device that causes the respective speaker to output the sound based on the signal and a non-output receiver device that does not cause the respective speaker to output the sound based on the sound signal. ### Claim 14 A control device for controlling a plurality of receiver devices that are located at different places, wherein each respective receiver device (i) receives a sound signal transmitted from a wireless microphone by radio, (ii) is connected to a respective speaker from among a plurality of speakers, and (iii) is capable of causing the respective speaker to output sound based on the sound signal, the control device comprising: an information acquisition part that acquires quality information indicating a quality of the sound signal received by the plurality of receiver devices; and a determination part that determines from among the plurality of output receiver devices, on a basis of the quality of the sound signal indicated by the quality information, an output receiver device that causes the respective speaker to output the sound based on the signal and a non-output receiver device that does not cause the respective speaker to output the sound based on the sound signal, wherein the determination part determines a receiver device of the plurality of receiver devices having the quality information indicating a highest sound signal quality as the output receiver device and all other receiver devices of the plurality of receiver devices as the non-output receiver devices. ### Claim 15 A control device for controlling a plurality of receiver devices that each receive a sound signal transmitted from a wireless microphone by radio, the control device comprising: an information acquisition part that acquires quality information indicating a quality of the sound signal received by the plurality of receiver devices; and a determination part that determines from among the plurality of output receiver devices, on a basis of the quality of the sound signal indicated by the quality information, a non-output receiver device that does not cause a speaker to output the sound based on the sound signal, wherein the determination part switches a status such that a first receiver device of the plurality of receiver devices causes a speaker to output the sound and a second receiver device of the plurality of receiver devices does not cause a speaker to output the sound on a condition where (i) a first quality of the sound signal received by the first receiver device is better than a second quality of the sound signal received by the second receiver device and (ii) a difference between the first quality and the second quality is larger than a difference threshold, the first receiver device being the non-output receiver device not outputting the sound based on the sound signal, and the second receiver device being the output receiver device outputting the sound based on the sound signal. ### Claim 16 A control device for controlling a plurality of receiver devices that each receive a sound signal transmitted from a wireless microphone by radio, the control device comprising: an information acquisition part that acquires quality information indicating a quality of the sound signal received by the plurality of receiver devices; a determination part that determines from among the plurality of output receiver devices, on a basis of the quality of the sound signal indicated by the quality information, a non-output receiver device that does not cause a speaker to output the sound based on the sound signal; and an input receiving part that receives an input of a usage mode of the wireless microphone, wherein the determination part determines the non-output receiver device by comparing the quality to a first criterion for not frequently causing the switching of the receiver device that outputs the sound signal in a first usage mode, and determines the non-output receiver device by comparing the quality to a second criterion, with which the receiver device that outputs the sound signal is easier to be switched than with the first criteria, in a second usage mode that differs from the first usage mode.