NOISE REDUCTION AUDIO REPRODUCING DEVICE AND NOISE REDUCTION AUDIO REPRODUCING METHOD

• US 20090323976A1
• Filed: 06/17/2009
• Published: 12/31/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Asada, Kohei, Suzuki, Shiro, Ohkuri, Kazunobu, Itabashi, Tetsunori
• Granted Patent: US 9,245,517 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/71.1
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17821 characterised by the analysis of the input signals only
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17823 Reference signals, e.g. ambient acoustic environment
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17827 Desired external signals, e.g. pass-through audio such as music or speech
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/1783 handling or detecting of non-standard events or conditions, e.g. changing operating modes under specific operating conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17853 of the filter
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17857 Geometric disposition, e.g. placement of microphones
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17873 using a reference signal without an error signal, e.g. pure feedforward
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17875 using an error signal without a reference signal, e.g. pure feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17881 the reference signal being an acoustic signal, e.g. recorded with a microphone
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17885 additionally using a desired external signal, e.g. pass-through audio such as music or speech
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/1053 Hi-fi, i.e. anything involving music, radios or loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/1081 Earphones, e.g. for telephones, ear protectors or headsets
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/065 Aids for the handicapped in understanding
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/01 Hearing devices using active noise cancellation
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/004 for microphones H04R29/007 takes precedence

Abstract

A noise reduction audio reproducing method includes the steps of: generating, from an audio signal of collected and obtained noise, an audio signal for noise cancellation to cancel the noise by synthesizing the audio signal for noise cancellation and the noise in an acoustic manner, reproducing the audio signal for noise cancellation acoustically to synthesize this with the noise in an acoustic manner; emphasizing an audio component to be listened to, of collected audio; synthesizing an audio signal with the audio component to be listened to being emphasized, and the audio signal for noise cancellation to supply the synthesized signal thereof to an electro-acoustic converting unit; and controlling so as to supply an audio signal, with the audio component to be listened to having been emphasized, to a synthesizing unit, regarding only a section based on a control signal.

Claims

1. A noise reduction audio reproducing device comprising:

a noise cancel processing unit to generate, from a first audio signal of noise collected and obtained by a first acousto-electric converting unit to collect noise, a second audio signal for noise cancellation to cancel said noise by synthesizing said second audio signal for noise cancellation and said noise in an acoustic manner, and cause an electro-acoustic converting unit to reproduce said second audio signal for noise cancellation acoustically to synthesize said second audio signal for noise cancellation and said noise in the acoustic manner;

a second acousto-electric converting unit to collect a third audio signal to be listened to;

an audio emphasizing unit to emphasize an audio component to be listened to, of audio signals collected by said second acousto-electric converting unit;

a synthesizing unit to synthesize a fourth audio signal with said audio component to be listened to being emphasized from said audio emphasizing unit, and said second audio signal for noise cancellation to supply a synthesized signal thereof to said electro-acoustic converting unit; and

a control unit to perform control so as to supply a fifth audio signal, with said audio component to be listened to having been emphasized by said audio emphasizing unit to said synthesizing unit, regarding only with a first section based on a control signal.

3. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 1, wherein said first acousto-electric converting unit and said second acousto-electric converting unit are configured from a common acousto-electric converting unit.

4. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising:

an operation input unit to accept operation input to specify a second section where said fourth audio signal with said audio component to be listened to being emphasized is listened to;

wherein said control unit generates said control signal based on said operation input through said operation input unit to supply said emphasized fourth audio signal to said synthesizing unit regarding only the second section specified by said operation input.

6. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 1, wherein said audio emphasizing unit is among a plurality of audio emphasizing units, the plurality of audio emphasizing units configured of units for emphasizing said audio component to be listened to by subtracting a power spectrum of the noise stored in a storage unit beforehand from the power spectrum of the third audio signal including the noise collected at said second acousto-electric converting unit.

8. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 6, further comprising:

a unit to obtain the power spectrum component of said noise from said third audio signal collected at said second acousto-electric converting unit to store the power spectrum in said storage unit beforehand.

10. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 6, further comprising:

an operation input unit to accept operation input to specify a second section where a said fourth audio signal with said audio component to be listened to being emphasized is listened to;

wherein said control unit performs control such that, with a first partial section of the second section specified by said operation input through said operation input unit, the power spectrum component of said noise is obtained from said third audio signal collected at said second acousto-electric converting unit, and is stored in said storage unit, and with a third section following the first partial section of said second section, said audio component to be listened to is emphasized by subtracting the power spectrum of the noise stored in said storage unit from the power spectrum of said third audio signal including noise collected at said second acousto-electric converting unit and said fourth audio signal is supplied to said synthesizing unit with the third section following said first partial section.

12. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 3 made up of headphones for a left ear and for a right ear as said electro-acoustic converting unit, wherein said two common acousto-electric converting units are provided so as to collect external audio of headphone casings for the left ear and right ear, and also said noise cancel processing unit and said synthesizing unit are each provided for the left ear and for the right ear;

and wherein said audio emphasizing units are one common unit to which one or both of the audio signals from said common acousto-electric converting unit for the left ear and for the right ear are supplied.

13. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 12, said one common audio emphasizing unit comprises:

a unit to divide each of the audio signal from said common acousto-electric converting unit for the left ear, and the audio signal from said common acousto-electric converting unit for the right ear into a plurality of frequency band signals;

a gain control unit to detect a phase difference between signals having a same frequency band, of the plurality of frequency band signals of said audio signal for the left ear and said audio signal for the right ear, to increase the gain of a frequency band signal exhibiting a predetermined phase difference, thereby performing audio emphasis; and

a unit to synthesize said plurality of frequency band signals gain-controlled by said gain control unit, and take the synthesized signal as said audio-emphasized signal and as a signal to be synthesized with said second audio signal for noise cancellation for the left ear and for the right ear.

14. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 12, said one common audio emphasizing unit comprises:

a unit to emphasize said audio component to be listened to by subtracting the power spectrum of the noise stored in a storage unit beforehand from the power spectrum of one audio signal or the synthesized signal of both of the audio signal from said common acousto-electric converting unit for the left ear and the audio signal from said common acousto-electric converting unit for the right ear.

2. A noise reduction audio reproducing device comprising:

an audio signal for noise cancellation generating unit to generate, from a first audio signal of noise collected and obtained by an acousto-electric converting unit to collect noise, a second audio signal for noise cancellation to cancel said noise by synthesizing said second audio signal for noise cancellation and said noise in an acoustic manner;

an electro-acoustic converting unit to reproduce said audio signal for noise cancellation acoustically to synthesize this said second audio signal for noise cancellation and said noise in the acoustic manner;

an audio emphasizing unit to emphasize an audio component to be listened to, of audio signals from said audio signal for noise cancellation generating unit;

a synthesizing unit to synthesize a fourth audio signal with said audio component to be listened to being emphasized from said audio emphasizing unit, and said second audio signal for noise cancellation to supply a synthesized signal thereof to said electro-acoustic converting unit; and

a control unit to perform control so as to supply a fifth audio signal, with said audio component to be listened to having been emphasized by said audio emphasizing unit, to said synthesizing unit, regarding only with a first section based on a control signal.

5. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 2, wherein said audio emphasizing unit is among a plurality of audio emphasizing units, the plurality of audio emphasizing units configured of units for emphasizing said audio component to be listened to by subtracting a power spectrum of the noise stored in a storage unit beforehand from the power spectrum of said third audio signal including noise collected at said second acousto-electric converting unit.

7. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 2, wherein said audio emphasizing units-are unit is among a plurality of audio emphasizing units, the plurality of audio emphasizing units configured of units for emphasizing said audio component to be listened to by subtracting a power spectrum of the noise stored in a storage unit beforehand from the power spectrum of the second audio signal from said audio signal for noise cancellation generating unit.

9. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 7, further comprising:

a unit to obtain the power spectrum component of said noise from the audio signal from said second audio signal for noise cancellation generating unit to store the power spectrum in said storage unit beforehand.

11. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 7, further comprising:

an operation input unit to accept operation input to specify a second section where said fourth audio signal with said audio component to be listened to being emphasized is listened to;

wherein said control unit performs control such that, with a first partial section of the second section specified by said operation input through said operation input unit, the power spectrum component of said noise is obtained from said second audio signal from said audio signal for noise cancellation generating unit, and is stored in said storage unit, and with a third section following the first partial section of said second section, said audio component to be listened to is emphasized by subtracting the power spectrum of the noise stored in said storage unit from the power spectrum of said audio signal including noise from said audio signal for noise cancellation generating unit, and said fourth audio signal is supplied to said synthesizing unit with the third section following said first partial section.

15. A noise reduction audio reproducing method comprising steps of:

generating, from a first audio signal of collected and obtained noise, a second audio signal for noise cancellation to cancel said noise by synthesizing said second audio signal for noise cancellation and said noise in an acoustic manner, reproducing said second audio signal for noise cancellation acoustically to synthesize this said second audio signal for noise cancellation with said noise in the acoustic manner;

emphasizing an audio component to be listened to, of collected audio;

synthesizing a third audio signal with said audio component to be listened to being emphasized, and said second audio signal for noise cancellation to supply a synthesized signal thereof to an electro-acoustic convening unit; and

controlling so as to supply a fourth audio signal, with said audio component to be listened to having been emphasized, to a synthesizing unit, regarding only a section based on a control signal.

16. A noise reduction audio reproducing method comprising:

generating, from a collected and obtained audio signal of noise, a first audio signal for noise cancellation to cancel said noise by synthesizing said first audio signal for noise cancellation and said noise in an acoustic manner;

reproducing said first audio signal for noise cancellation acoustically to synthesize this the first audio signal for noise cancellation and said noise in the acoustic manner;

emphasizing an audio component to be listened to, of audio signals;

synthesizing a second audio signal with said audio component to be listened to being emphasized, and said first audio signal for noise cancellation, to supply a synthesized signal thereof to an electro-acoustic convening unit; and

controlling so as to supply a third audio signal, with said audio component to be listened to, regarding only a section based on a control signal.