MASKING SOUND GENERATING APPARATUS, STORAGE MEDIUM STORED WITH MASKING SOUND SIGNAL, MASKING SOUND REPRODUCING APPARATUS, AND PROGRAM

• US 20130315413A1
• Filed: 11/25/2011
• Published: 11/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: Hata, Masato, Shimizu, Yasushi, Yamakawa, Takashi, Koike, Mai
• Granted Patent: US 9,390,703 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/73.1
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/1752 Masking
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 2203/12 for acoustic communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/45 characterized by including monitoring of the target or target signal, e.g. in reactive jammers or follower jammers for example by means of an alternation of jamming phases and monitoring phases, called "look-through mode"
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/46 characterized in that the jamming signal is produced by retransmitting a received signal, after delay or processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/825 by jamming
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/84 related to preventing electromagnetic interference in petrol station, hospital, plane or cinema

Abstract

Whereas a high masking effect can be secured in a space to which a masking sound is emitted, the degree of a discomfort a person existing in the space suffers can be reduced. In superimposition processing, a CPU 21 extracts sound signals in different intervals of a sound signal X₁₂-n of a human voice, superimposes the extracted sound signals on each other on the time axis, and outputs a resulting superimposed sound signal X₁₃-n. In shift and addition processing, the CPU 12 interchanges a sound signal, before a reference position, of a sound signal X₁₆-n and a sound signal, after the reference position, of the sound signal X₁₆-n (shift processing) and outputs a sound signal X₁₇-n obtained by adding together a shift-processed sound signal X₁₆′-n and the original, non-shift-processed sound signal X₁₆-n.

Claims

1. A masking sound generating apparatus comprising:

an acquiring unit that acquires a sound signal sequence which represents a speech; and

a generating unit that includes a superimposing unit which extracts plural sound signal sequences in different intervals of the sound signal sequence and superimposes the extracted sound signal sequences on each other on the time axis,

wherein the generating unit generates a masking sound signal from a sound signal sequence obtained through acquirement by the acquiring unit and processing by the superimposing unit.

2. The masking sound generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the superimposing unit includes a shifting and adding unit that performs shift processing which is processing of interchanging a sound signal sequence before a reference position in a processing subject sound signal sequence and a sound signal sequence after the reference position in the processing subject sound signal sequence, and outputs a sound signal sequence obtained by adding together a shift-processed sound signal sequence and the original, non-shift-processed sound signal sequence.

3. The masking sound generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the superimposing unit includes a shifting and adding unit that performs plural pieces of shift processing which are pieces of processing of interchanging sound signal sequences before different reference positions in a processing subject sound signal sequence and sound signal sequences after the reference positions in the processing subject sound signal sequence, respectively, and outputs a sound signal sequence obtained by adding together plural sound signal sequences obtained by the plural pieces of shift processing.

4. The masking sound generating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the superimposing unit includes a dividing and adding unit that divides, on the time axis, a processing subject sound signal sequence into sound signal sequences having shorter time lengths and adds together the divided sound signal sequences, and outputs a sound signal sequence obtained through pieces of processing by the dividing and adding unit and the shifting and adding unit.

5. The masking sound generating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the superimposing unit includes a reversing unit that divides a processing subject sound signal sequence into sound signals in plural intervals on the time axis, reverses the arrangement order of the sound signal in each divisional interval, and generates an arrangement-order-reversed sound signal sequence;

and

wherein the superimposing unit employs, as a processing subject of the shifting and adding unit;

a sound signal sequence obtained through processing by the reversing unit.

6. The masking sound generating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the superimposing unit includes a reversing unit that divides a processing subject sound signal sequence into sound signals in plural intervals on the time axis, reverses the arrangement order of the sound signal in each divisional interval, and generates an arrangement-order-reversed sound signal sequence;

and

wherein the superimposing unit outputs a sound signal sequence obtained through pieces of processing by the shifting and adding unit and the reversing unit.

7. The masking sound generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the superimposing unit includes:

a dividing and adding unit that divides, on the time axis, a processing subject sound signal sequence into sound signal sequences having shorter time lengths and adds together the divided sound signal sequences;

plural shifting units that perform pieces of shift processing which are pieces of processing of interchanging sound signal sequences before different reference positions in a sound signal sequence obtained through processing by the dividing and adding unit and sound signal sequences after the reference positions in the sound signal sequence, respectively; and

an adding unit that adds together sound signal sequences obtained through pieces of processing by the plural shifting units.

8. The masking sound generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the superimposing unit includes:

plural shifting units that perform pieces of shift processing which are pieces of processing of interchanging sound signal sequences before different reference positions in processing subject sound signal sequences and sound signal sequences after the reference positions in the processing subject sound signal sequences, respectively;

plural reversing unit that reverse, on the time axis, the arrangement order of a sound signal sequence in each of plural intervals of division of each of processing subject sound signal sequences obtained through pieces of processing by the plural shifting units, and generates arrangement-order-reversed sound signal sequences; and

an adding unit that adds together sound signal sequences obtained through pieces of processing by the plural reversing units.

9. A recording medium stored with a masking sound signal that has output from the masking sound generating apparatus according to claim 1.

10. A masking sound reproducing apparatus which emits a masking sound represented by a masking sound signal that is output from the masking sound generating apparatus according to claim 1.

12. The masking sound generating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the superimposing unit includes a dividing and adding unit that divides, on the time axis, a processing subject sound signal sequence into sound signal sequences having shorter time lengths and adds together the divided sound signal sequences, and outputs a sound signal sequence obtained through pieces of processing by the dividing and adding unit and the shifting and adding unit.

13. The masking sound generating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the superimposing unit includes a reversing unit that divides a processing subject sound signal sequence into sound signals in plural intervals on the time axis, reverses the arrangement order of the sound signal in each divisional interval, and generates an arrangement-order-reversed sound signal sequence;

and

wherein the superimposing unit employs, as a processing subject of the shifting and adding unit;

a sound signal sequence obtained through processing by the reversing unit.

14. The masking sound generating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the superimposing unit includes a reversing unit that divides a processing subject sound signal sequence into sound signals in plural intervals on the time axis, reverses the arrangement order of the sound signal in each divisional interval, and generates an arrangement-order-reversed sound signal sequence;

and

wherein the superimposing unit outputs a sound signal sequence obtained through pieces of processing by the shifting and adding unit and the reversing unit.

11. A non-transitory machine-readable medium containing a program for causing a computer to realize:

an acquiring unit that acquires a sound signal sequence which represents a voice; and

a generating unit that includes a superimposing unit which extracts plural sound signal sequences in different intervals of the sound signal sequence and superimposes the extracted sound signal sequences on each other on the time axis,

wherein the generating unit generates a masking sound signal from an sound signal sequence obtained through acquirement by the acquiring unit and processing by the superimposing unit.