DECODING APPARATUS AND METHOD, AUDIO SIGNAL PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD, AND PROGRAM

• US 20150088528A1
• Filed: 04/04/2013
• Published: 03/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Toguri, Yasuhiro, Maeda, Yuuji, Matsumoto, Jun
• Application Number:
  US14/390,810
• Publication Number:
  US 20150088528A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/500
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/005 Correction of errors induced by the transmission channel, if related to the coding algorithm

Abstract

The present technique relates to a decoding apparatus and method, an audio signal processing apparatus and method, and a program that enable generation of an interpolation signal with less incongruity through a smaller amount of calculation.

A frame signal decoding unit generates a decoded signal by decoding frame data, and an interpolation state determining unit determines an interpolation status for specifying the pattern of the process to be performed to obtain an output signal based on an error flag. A similar signal detecting unit extracts part of a thinned signal obtained by thinning a past output signal. An upsampling unit upsamples the extracted thinning signal, and a smoothing unit generates an interpolation signal by performing a smoothing process on the upsampled thinned signal. An output switching unit outputs an output signal that is a decoded signal, an interpolation signal, or a signal obtained by subjecting the decoded signal and the interpolation signal to a weighted overlap addition, depending on the interpolation status. The present technique can be applied to audio signal processing apparatuses.

Claims

1. A decoding apparatus including:

a decoding unit that generates a decoded signal by decoding an audio signal on a frame basis;

a thinning unit that generates a thinned signal by performing a thinning process on an output signal that is output earlier;

an interpolation signal generating unit that generates an interpolation signal based on the thinned signal; and

an output switching unit that outputs the decoded signal or the interpolation signal as the output signal in accordance with error information about the frame.

2. The decoding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the thinning unit performs the thinning process directly on the output signal, to generate the thinned signal into which a high-frequency foldback component of the output signal is mixed.

3. The decoding apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a thinned signal storing unit configured to store the thinned signal; and

a similar signal detecting unit configured to detect a similar zone that is similar to a zone of the thinned signal of a time immediately before the audio signal having disappeared among the thinned signals stored in the thinned signal storing unit when the audio signal has disappeared from the frame being processed,

wherein the interpolation signal generating unit generates the interpolation signal based on a signal in a zone immediately after the similar zone among the thinned signals stored in the thinned signal storing unit.

4. The decoding apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the interpolation signal generating unit upsamples the signal in the zone immediately after the similar zone among the thinned signals stored in the thinned signal storing unit, and

the decoding apparatus further comprises a smoothing unit configured to perform a filtering process using a low-pass filter on the signal upsampled by the interpolation signal generating unit, and sets the filtered signal as the interpolation signal.

5. The decoding apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the smoothing unit uses one of the audio signal immediately before the audio signal having disappeared from the frame being processed, and the signal obtained by upsampling the thinned signal of the time immediately before the audio signal having disappeared, as an initial value of an internal state of the low-pass filter.

6. The decoding apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the thinning unit generates the thinned signal by performing the thinning process on one of the decoded signal and the interpolation signal, which is output as the output signal from the output switching unit.

7. The decoding apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising an interpolation state determining unit configured to determine an interpolation status based on the error information about the frame,

wherein the output switching unit generates a combined signal by performing a weighted overlap addition on the interpolation signal and the decoded signal, and outputs one of the decoded signal, the interpolation signal, and the combined signal as the output signal in accordance with the interpolation status.

8. A decoding method including the steps of:

generating a decoded signal by decoding an audio signal on a frame basis;

generating a thinned signal by performing a thinning process on an output signal that is output earlier;

generating an interpolation signal based on the thinned signal; and

outputting the decoded signal or the interpolation signal as the output signal in accordance with error information about the frame.

9. A program for causing a computer to perform a process including the steps of:

generating a decoded signal by decoding an audio signal on a frame basis;

generating a thinned signal by performing a thinning process on an output signal that is output earlier;

generating an interpolation signal based on the thinned signal; and

outputting the decoded signal or the interpolation signal as the output signal in accordance with error information about the frame.

10. An audio signal processing apparatus comprising:

a timing signal generating unit configured to output an internal timing signal when a double buffer is switched while an audio signal is processed by using the double buffer formed with two buffers each having a predetermined length; and

a synchronization control unit configured to synchronize the internal timing signal with an external timing signal supplied from the outside when the internal timing signal and the external timing signal are not in synchronization, by shortening a duration of time before the switching in the double buffer by an amount equivalent to a phase difference between the internal timing signal and the external timing signal.

11. The audio signal processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a state changing unit configured to change a current state to a synchronization complete state and continue the processing of the audio signal using the double buffer when the internal timing signal and the external timing signal are in synchronization, and change the current state to a synchronization incomplete state and suspend the processing of the audio signal when the internal timing signal and the external timing signal are not in synchronization.

12. The audio signal processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein, when processing of audio signals of a plurality of channels is controlled and there is a request for a change of the number of channels of the audio signals to be processed, the state changing unit changes the current state to the synchronization incomplete state, and suspends the processing of the audio signal.

13. The audio signal processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the synchronization control unit synchronizes the internal timing signal with the external timing signal by shortening a length of one buffer in the double buffer by the amount equivalent to the phase difference and shortening the duration of time before the switching in the double buffer, and returns the duration of time before the next switching in the double buffer to the original unshortened length by returning the shortened length of the buffer to the original length.

14. The audio signal processing apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the timing signal generating unit switches the double buffer and outputs the internal timing signal when the audio signal received is stored into one of the buffers constituting the double buffer and the storing of the audio signal into the one of the buffers is completed,

the state changing unit controls encoding of the audio signal depending on whether the current state is the synchronization complete state or is the synchronization incomplete state, and

the audio signal processing apparatus further comprises an encoding unit configured to encode the audio signal stored in the other one of the buffers constituting the double buffer when the current state is the synchronization complete state.

15. The audio signal processing apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the timing signal generating unit switches the double buffer and outputs the internal timing signal when the audio signal decoded and stored in one of the buffers constituting the double buffer is transmitted and the transmission of the audio signal from the one of the buffers is completed,

the state changing unit controls decoding of the audio signal depending on whether the current state is the synchronization complete state or is the synchronization incomplete state, and

the audio signal processing apparatus further comprises a decoding unit configured to decode the audio signal and stores the decoded audio signal into the other one of the buffers constituting the double buffer when the current state is the synchronization complete state.

16. The audio signal processing apparatus according to claim 12,

wherein a recording region of a size determined by the largest possible number of channels of the audio signal to be processed is secured as a static data storage region for storing information necessary for processing the audio signal of each channel, and

static data regions of the respective channels for storing the information necessary for processing the audio signal are secured in the static data storage region when there is a request for a change of the number of channels.

17. An audio signal processing method comprising the steps of:

outputting an internal timing signal when a double buffer is switched while an audio signal is processed by using the double buffer formed with two buffers each having a predetermined length; and

synchronizing the internal timing signal with an external timing signal supplied from the outside when the internal timing signal and the external timing signal are not in synchronization, by shortening a duration of time before the switching in the double buffer by an amount equivalent to a phase difference between the internal timing signal and the external timing signal.

18. A program for causing a computer to perform a process comprising the steps of:

outputting an internal timing signal when a double buffer is switched while an audio signal is processed by using the double buffer formed with two buffers each having a predetermined length; and

synchronizing the internal timing signal with an external timing signal supplied from the outside when the internal timing signal and the external timing signal are not in synchronization, by shortening a duration of time before the switching in the double buffer by an amount equivalent to a phase difference between the internal timing signal and the external timing signal.