FILTER GENERATOR, FILTER GENERATION METHOD, AND FILTER GENERATION PROGRAM

• US 20180019720A1
• Filed: 02/24/2016
• Published: 01/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Original Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Inventors: HASHIMOTO, Takeshi, WATANABE, Tetsuo, FUJITA, Yasuhiro, FUKUE, Kazutomo, KUMAGAI, Takatomi, MORITA, Hideyuki
• Granted Patent: US 10,008,997 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/156 using a domain transform, e.g. Fourier transform, polynomial transform, number theoretic transform
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 5/005 of digital signals
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 5/025 Equalizers; Volume or gain control in limited frequency bands
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 5/165 Equalizers; Volume or gain control in limited frequency bands
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 17/0213 Frequency domain filters using Fourier transforms
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 17/06 Non-recursive filters

Abstract

A filter generator (100) generates a filter on the basis of band information (frequency) and gain characteristics (gain value) set by a user. The filter generator (100) obtains weighting factor information on the basis of the band information selected by the user and calculates a gain difference between a gain value used in a preceding filtering process and the new gain value selected by the user. The filter generator (100) then obtains a correction gain by multiplying the weighting factor information by the gain difference and generates a filter by multiplying a coefficient of the filter used in the preceding filtering process by the correction gain.

Claims

1. A filter generator that generates a filter for performing a sound correction process on an audio signal by fast-Fourier-transforming, then filtering, and inverse-fast-Fourier-transforming the audio signal, the filter generator comprising:

a weighting factor storage unit configured to store weighting factor information used to perform the sound correction process, for each of a plurality of bands obtained by dividing a frequency band of the audio signal;

a gain coefficient storage unit configured to store preceding gain values of the divided bands set by a user before a preceding sound correction process and a preceding filter used in the preceding sound correction process;

an input detection unit configured to detect a band selected by the user, of the divided bands as band information and to detect a new gain value newly set by the user for the selected band;

a weighting factor extraction unit configured to extract weighting factor information of the band selected by the user from the weighting factor storage unit on the basis of the band information detected by the input detection unit;

a gain difference calculation unit configured to calculate, as a gain difference, a difference between a preceding gain value of the band obtained from the band information, of the preceding gain values stored in the gain coefficient storage unit and the new gain value detected by the input detection unit;

a correction gain generation unit configured to generate a correction gain of the band obtained from the band information by multiplying the weighting factor information extracted by the weighting factor extraction unit and the gain difference calculated by the gain difference calculation unit; and

a filter coefficient calculation unit configured to generate a new filter by multiplying a coefficient of the band obtained from the band information, of the preceding filter stored in the gain coefficient storage unit by the correction gain generated by the correction gain generation unit.

2. The filter generator according to claim 1, wherein the weighting factor information is set in such a manner that an amplitude value of a center frequency of each of the divided bands is set to a maximum value;

and amplitude values become lower at more distant frequencies from the center frequency and show a convex amplitude value change state.

3. The filter generator according to claim 2, wherein if a frequency is represented by a log scale, the convex amplitude value change state has a horizontally symmetrical shape in the weighting factor information.

4. The filter generator according to claim 2, wherein the weighting factor information is set in such a manner that an amplitude value of a center frequency of an adjacent band is set to 0;

and an amplitude value of a frequency serving as a boundary with the adjacent band is set to an amplitude value that is half of the maximum value.

5. The filter generator according to claim 2, wherein the weighting factor information has attenuation characteristics corresponding to a Hann window or quarter window as the convex amplitude value change state.

6. A filter generation method used by a filter generator that generates a filter for performing a sound correction process on an audio signal by fast-Fourier-transforming, then filtering, and inverse-fast-Fourier-transforming the audio signal, the filter generator comprising:

a weighting factor storage unit configured to store weighting factor information used to perform the sound correction process, for each of a plurality of bands obtained by dividing a frequency band of the audio signal; and

a gain coefficient storage unit configured to store preceding gain values of the divided bands set by a user before a preceding sound correction process and a preceding filter used in the preceding sound correction process, the method comprising;

an input detection step of detecting, by an input detection unit, a band selected by the user, of the divided bands as band information and detecting a new gain value newly set by the user for the selected band;

a weighting factor extraction step of extracting, by a weighting factor extraction unit, weighting factor information of the band selected by the user from the weighting factor storage unit on the basis of the band information detected in the input detection step;

a gain difference calculation step of calculating, by a gain difference calculation unit, a difference between a preceding gain value of the band obtained from the band information, of the preceding gain values stored in the gain coefficient storage unit and the new gain value detected in the input detection step, as a gain difference;

a correction gain generation step of generating, by a correction gain generation unit, a correction gain of the band obtained from the band information by multiplying the weighting factor information extracted in the weighting factor extraction step and the gain difference calculated in the gain difference calculation step; and

a filter coefficient calculation step of generating, by a filter coefficient calculation unit, a new filter by multiplying a coefficient of the band obtained from the band information, of the preceding filter stored in the gain coefficient storage unit by the correction gain generated in the correction gain generation step.

7. The filter generation method according to claim 6, wherein the weighting factor information is set in such a manner that an amplitude value of a center frequency of each of the divided bands is set to a maximum value;

and amplitude values become lower at more distant frequencies from the center frequency and show a convex amplitude value change state.

8. The filter generation method according to claim 7, wherein if a frequency is represented by a log scale, the convex amplitude value change state has a horizontally symmetrical shape in the weighting factor information.

9. The filter generation method according to claim 7, wherein the weighting factor information is set in such a manner that an amplitude value of a center frequency of an adjacent band is set to 0;

and an amplitude value of a frequency serving as a boundary with the adjacent band is set to an amplitude value that is half of the maximum value.

10. The filter generation method according to claim 7, wherein the weighting factor information has attenuation characteristics corresponding to a Hann window or quarter window as the convex amplitude value change state.

11. A filter generation program for performing, using a computer of a filter generator, a function of generating a filter for performing a sound correction process on an audio signal by fast-Fourier-transforming, then filtering, and inverse-fast-Fourier-transforming the audio signal, the filter generator comprising:

a weighting factor storage unit configured to store weighting factor information used to perform the sound correction process, for each of a plurality of bands obtained by dividing a frequency band of the audio signal; and

a gain coefficient storage unit configured to store preceding gain values of the divided bands set by a user before a preceding sound correction process and a preceding filter used in the preceding sound correction process, the filter generation program causing the computer to perform;

an input detection function of detecting a band selected by the user, of the divided bands as band information and detecting a new gain value newly set by the user for the selected band;

a weighting factor extraction function of extracting weighting factor information of the band selected by the user from the weighting factor storage unit on the basis of the band information detected by the input detection function;

a gain difference calculation function of calculating, as a gain difference, a difference between a preceding gain value of the band obtained from the band information, of the preceding gain values stored in the gain coefficient storage unit and the new gain value detected by the input detection function;

a correction gain generation function of generating a correction gain of the band obtained from the band information by multiplying the weighting factor information extracted by the weighting factor extraction function and the gain difference calculated by the gain difference calculation function; and

a filter coefficient calculation function of generating a new filter by multiplying a coefficient of the band obtained from the band information, of the preceding filter stored in the gain coefficient storage unit by the correction gain generated by the correction gain generation function.

12. The filter generation program according to claim 11, wherein the weighting factor information is set in such a manner that an amplitude value of a center frequency of each of the divided bands is set to a maximum value;

and amplitude values become lower at more distant frequencies from the center frequency and show a convex amplitude value change state.

13. The filter generation program according to claim 12, wherein if a frequency is represented by a log scale, the convex amplitude value change state has a horizontally symmetrical shape in the weighting factor information.

14. The filter generation program according to claim 12, wherein the weighting factor information is set in such a manner that an amplitude value of a center frequency of an adjacent band is set to 0;

and an amplitude value of a frequency serving as a boundary with the adjacent band is set to an amplitude value that is half of the maximum value.

15. The filter generation program according to claim 12, wherein the weighting factor information has attenuation characteristics corresponding to a Hann window or quarter window as the convex amplitude value change state.