Headphone audio enhancement system

• US 10,284,955 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2017
• Issued: 05/07/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ComHear, Incorporated
• Original Assignee: ComHear, Incorporated
• Inventors: Kraemer, Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): King, Simon
• Application Number:
  US15/848,965
• Publication Number:
  US 20180213327A1
• Time in Patent Office: 503 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/08 of electromagnetic transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/033 Headphones for stereophonic communication details thereof, e.g. relating to batteries, cables or control elements H04R1/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 1/005 For headphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2420/01 Enhancing the perception of the sound image or of the spatial distribution using head related transfer functions [HRTF's] or equivalents thereof, e.g. interaural time difference [ITD] or interaural level difference [ILD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/307 Frequency adjustment, e.g. tone control H04S7/301 takes precedence

Abstract

An audio enhancement system can provide spatial enhancement, low frequency enhancement, and/or high frequency enhancement for headphone audio. The spatial enhancement can increase the sense of spaciousness or stereo separation between left and right headphone channels. The low frequency enhancement can enhance bass frequencies that are unreproducible or attenuated in headphone speakers by emphasizing harmonics of the low bass frequencies. The high frequency enhancement can emphasize higher frequencies that may be less reproducible or poorly tuned for headphone speakers. In some implementations, the audio enhancement system provides a user interface that enables a user to control the amount (e.g., gains) of each enhancement applied to headphone input signals. The audio enhancement system may also be designed to provide one or more of these enhancements more effectively when headphones with good coupling to the ear are used.

Claims

1. A method for audio enhancement, the method comprising:

under control of a hardware processor;

receiving a difference signal obtained from left and right audio inputs;

applying a gain to the difference signal to obtain a gained output;

applying a notch filter to the difference signal to produce a filtered difference signal; and

summing the gained output and the filtered difference signal to produce a spatially enhanced signal.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising processing the left and right audio inputs with at least one of a low frequency enhancer or a high frequency enhancer to produce bass-enhanced audio signals or the high-frequency enhanced audio signals, respectively.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

mixing the spatially enhanced signal with at least one of the bass-enhanced audio signals or the high-frequency enhanced audio signals to produce output signals for playback to an audio device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the spatially enhanced signals is associated with a spatial enhancement effect with de-emphasis of a frequency range which listeners perceive as coming from the front of the listeners.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the notch filter is associated with a frequency response which has notch centered at 2500 Hz.

6. A system for audio enhancement, the system comprising:

a hardware processor configured to execute a spatial enhancer to;

receive a difference signal obtained from left and right audio inputs;

apply a gain to the difference signal to obtain a gained output;

apply a notch filter to the difference signal to produce a filtered difference signal; and

sum the gained output and the filtered difference signal to produce a spatially enhanced signal.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the hardware processor is further programmed to process the left and right audio inputs with at least one of a low frequency enhancer or a high frequency enhancer to produce bass-enhanced audio signals or the high-frequency enhanced audio signals, respectively.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the hardware processor is further programmed to:

mix the spatially enhanced signal with at least one of the bass-enhanced audio signals or the high-frequency enhanced audio signals to produce output signals for playback to an audio device.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the spatially enhanced signals is associated with a spatial enhancement effect with de-emphasis of a frequency range which listeners perceive as coming from the front of the listeners.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the notch filter is associated with a frequency response which has notch centered at 2500 Hz.