N Surround

• US 20120237037A1
• Filed: 03/19/2012
• Published: 09/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation (Dolby Laboratories Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation (Dolby Laboratories Incorporated)
• Inventors: Ninan, Ajit, Poncini, Deon, Buschek, Gregory
• Granted Patent: US 9,107,023 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/17
• 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 7/304 For headphones

Abstract

Techniques are provided to use near-field speakers to add depth information that may be missing, incomplete, or imperceptible in far-field sound waves from far-field speakers, and to remove the multi-channel cross talk and reflected sound waves that otherwise may be inherent in a listening space with the far-field speakers alone. In some possible embodiments, a calibration tone may be monitored at each of a listener'"'"'s ears. The calibration tone may be emitted by two or more far-field speakers. One or more audio portions from two or more near-field speakers may be outputted based on results of monitoring the calibration tone.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

monitoring a calibration tone in a proximity to each of a listener'"'"'s ears, the calibration tone being calibration sound waves emitted by two or more far-field speakers;

outputting one or more audio portions from two or more near-field speakers based on results of monitoring the calibration tone, the one or more audio portions canceling or reducing at least one of multi-channel cross talk and sound reflections from the two or more far-field speakers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the far-field speakers and the near-field speakers are controlled by a common audio processor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the far-field speakers are controlled by a far-field audio processor, wherein the near-field speakers are controlled by a near-field audio processor.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising synchronizing the near-field audio processor with the far-field audio processor.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a signal processing algorithm to generate a surround ring that is separate from another surround-sound ring generated by the far-field speakers.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the signal processing algorithm is part of an application downloaded to a device in the listener'"'"'s proximity.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring is in part performed by two or more microphones mounted in the listener'"'"'s proximity.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the microphones are mounted on a pair of glasses worn by the listener.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, based on the monitoring, one or more audio properties of far-field sound waves from the far-field speakers as perceived by the listener.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more audio properties comprise at least one of inter-aural level difference, inter-aural intensity difference, inter-aural time difference, or inter-aural phase difference.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, based on the monitoring, multi-channel cross talk and sound reflections related to far-field sound waves.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising canceling or reducing at least one of multi-channel cross talk and sound reflections by outputting near-field sound waves obtained by inverting sound waves in the far-field sound waves.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the calibration tone comprises sound waves at high sound wave frequencies beyond human hearing.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the calibration tone comprises a plurality of pulses emitted by different ones of the far-end speakers at a plurality of different specific times.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the near-field sound waves comprise at least one, two, or more audio cues indicating at least one distance of a sound source other than the far-field speakers, and wherein none of the at least one, two, or more audio cues are detectable from the far-field sound waves.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the near-field sound waves comprise at least one, two or more audio cues generated with one or more audio processing filters and/or delays using a head-related transfer function.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising interpolating near-field sound waves with the far-field sound waves to form a surround ring that is different from both a surround ring generated by the near-field speakers and a surround ring generated by the front-field speakers.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the near-field speakers is operatively coupled to a mobile device that comprises an audio processing application to add a 3 dimensional (3D) spatial portion in a sound field perceived by the listener.

20. A computer readable storage medium, comprising software instructions, which when executed by one or more processors cause performance of the method recited in claim 1.

19. An audio system comprising:

a near-field audio processor configured to control two or more near-field speakers; and

a far-field audio processor configured to control two or more far-field speakers and to output two or more far-field sound waves;

wherein the near-field audio processor is further configured to perform;

synchronizing with the far-field audio processing system;

monitoring, at each of two or more spatial locations adjacent to a listener, two or more calibration sound waves from the two or more far-field sound waves;

outputting two or more near-field sound waves based at least in part on results of the monitoring.