METHOD AND DEVICE FOR MEASUREMENT OF PROPAGATION DELAY CHARACTERISTIC IN MULTIPATH PROPAGATION ENVIRONMENT, AND EXTERNAL AUDIO PERCEPTION DEVICE

• US 20160142817A1
• Filed: 06/16/2014
• Published: 05/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Government of Japan)
• Original Assignee: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Government of Japan)
• Inventors: HOTEHAMA, Takuya, NAKAGAWA, Seiji
• Application Number:
  US14/899,053
• Publication Number:
  US 20160142817A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/364 Delay profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/46 Special adaptations for use as contact microphones, e.g. on musical instrument, on stethoscope throat mountings H04R1/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/03 Synergistic effects of band splitting and sub-band processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/13 Hearing devices using bone conduction transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/00 Monitoring arrangements; Testing arrangements for hearing aids H04R25/30; detection of loudspeaker connection H04R5/04; sound-field adaptation dependent on speaker detection H04S7/308
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/004 for microphones H04R29/007 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/00 Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/04 for correcting frequency response

Abstract

A method for measuring propagation delay characteristics in a multipath propagation environment, wherein the propagation delay characteristics are measured between a transmission means and a reception means provided in the multipath propagation environment, the method comprising a transmission step of transmitting a measurement signal comprising an information signal having a predetermined frequency from the transmission means; a reception step of receiving the measurement signal that has traveled along a plurality of propagation paths by the reception means; a calculation step of performing Hilbert transform on the received information signal to calculate instantaneous frequency characteristics from a resulting Hilbert transform signal; and an output step of outputting propagation delay characteristics corresponding to the frequency of the information signal based on the instantaneous frequency characteristics.

Claims

1. A method for measuring propagation delay characteristics in a multipath propagation environment, wherein the propagation delay characteristics are measured between a transmission means and a reception means provided in the multipath propagation environment, the method comprising:

a transmission step of transmitting a measurement signal comprising an information signal having a predetermined frequency from the transmission means;

a reception step of receiving the measurement signal that has traveled along a plurality of propagation paths by the reception means;

a calculation step of performing Hilbert transform on the received information signal to calculate instantaneous frequency characteristics from a resulting Hilbert transform signal; and

an output step of outputting propagation delay characteristics corresponding to the frequency of the information signal based on the instantaneous frequency characteristics.

2. The method for measuring propagation delay characteristics according to claim 1, wherein the output step comprises normalizing the instantaneous frequency characteristics to output normalized instantaneous frequency characteristics.

3. The method for measuring propagation delay characteristics according to claim 1, wherein the propagation delay characteristics of bone-conducted ultrasound in the head of a living body are measured.

4. A device for measuring propagation delay characteristics in a multipath propagation environment, wherein the propagation delay characteristics are measured between a transmission means and a reception means provided in the multipath propagation environment, wherein

the transmission means is configured to transmit a measurement signal comprising an information signal having a predetermined frequency, and the reception means is configured to receive the measurement signal that has traveled along a plurality of propagation paths;

and

the device comprises;

a calculation unit for performing Hilbert transform on the information signal received by the reception means to calculate instantaneous frequency characteristics from a resulting Hilbert transform signal, and

an output unit for outputting propagation delay characteristics corresponding to the frequency of the information signal based on the instantaneous frequency characteristics.

5. An external sound perception device comprising a directional microphone into which an external sound is inputted, a vibration signal generation means for generating a vibration signal based on a sound signal inputted into the directional microphone, a signal processing unit for processing the vibration signal to generate an output signal, and a vibrator for transferring mechanical vibrations to a living body based on the output signal, wherein

the external sound perception device further comprises:

a transmission means and a reception means that are for attachment to different parts of a human body and are capable of measuring propagation delay characteristics in a multipath propagation environment, wherein the transmission means is configured to transmit a measurement signal comprising an information signal having a predetermined frequency via the vibrator, and the reception means is configured to receive the measurement signal that has traveled along a plurality of propagation paths of the human body,

a calculation unit for performing Hilbert transform on the information signal received by the reception means to calculate instantaneous frequency characteristics from a resulting Hilbert transform signal, and

an output unit for outputting propagation delay characteristics corresponding to the frequency of the information signal based on the instantaneous frequency characteristics, and

the signal processing unit performs signal processing on the vibration signal based on the propagation delay characteristics.