Noise controller which noise-controls movable point

• US 5,267,320 A
• Filed: 03/12/1992
• Issued: 11/30/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Fukumizu, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Isen, Forester W.
• Application Number:
  US07/851,375
• Time in Patent Office: 628 Days
• Field of Search: 381/71, 381/94
• US Class Current: 381/71.12
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17817 between the output signals and the error signals, i.e. secondary path
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17821 characterised by the analysis of the input signals only
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17823 Reference signals, e.g. ambient acoustic environment
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17853 of the filter
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17854 the filter being an adaptive filter
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17857 Geometric disposition, e.g. placement of microphones
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17881 the reference signal being an acoustic signal, e.g. recorded with a microphone
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/3019 Cross-terms between multiple in's and out's
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/30232 Transfer functions, e.g. impulse response
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/3045 Multiple acoustic inputs, single acoustic output
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/3046 Multiple acoustic inputs, multiple acoustic outputs
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/3219 Geometry of the configuration

Abstract

A noise controller which noise-controls a movable point so that a noise generated from a noise source and transmitted to the movable point can be reduced. The noise controller filters the noise in accordance with a least mean square algorithm and generates an antinoise to be collided with the noise so that the antinoise and the noise can cancel each other out. When a filter coefficient used for the least mean square algorithm is renewed, the noise controller uses position data of the movable point. Thus, even if the movable point moves, the proper noise-control can be performed.

Claims

1. A noise controller which noise-controls a movable point so that noise generated from a noise source and transmitted to the movable point can be reduced, said noise controller comprising:

a) noise detecting means, located near the noise source, for detecting the noise, and for generating a first signal representing the noise;

b) signal processing means including a digital filter which has a filter coefficient, coupled to said noise detecting means, for generating a second signal by signal-processing the first signal via the digital filter;

c) antinoise generating means, coupled to said signal processing means, for (1) generating an antinoise from the second signal and for (2) outputting the antinoise to the movable point so as to cause the antinoise to collide with the noise;

d) residual-noise detecting means, located at the movable point, for detecting residual noise generated from the noise which was made to collide with the antinoise, and for generating a third signal representing the residual noise;

e) position detecting means for detecting a position of the movable point; and

f) coefficient renewing means, coupled to said residual-noise detecting means and responsive to said position detecting means, for renewing the filter coefficient of the digital filter in said signal processing means based on the position of the movable point detected by the position detecting means so that the movable point can be properly noise-controlled even when the movable point moves, said coefficient renewing means renewing the filter coefficient in accordance with a least mean square algorithm in which the filter coefficient is renewed so that a squared third signal can be minimized.

2. A noise controller according to claim 1, wherein said coefficient renewing means renews the filter coefficient in accordance with a least mean square algorithm by using a transfer function between the antinoise generating means and the movable point, and

said noise controller further comprises transfer-function correcting means, coupled to said position detecting mean and said coefficient renewing means, for calculating the transfer function used for said coefficient renewing means based on the position of the movable point detected by said position detecting means.

3. A noise controller according to claim 2, wherein said transfer-function correcting means calculates the transfer function in accordance with a system identification method.

4. A noise controller according to claim 3, wherein said position detecting means detects the position of the movable point at a predetermined sampling frequency, and expresses the position of the movable point as a distance between said antinoise generating means and said residual-noise detecting means, and

wherein said transfer-function correcting means calculates the transfer function as follows:

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">c.sub.j (n)=L.sup.0 /L(n))*C.sub.j-d.sup.0 ;

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">d=(L(n)-L.sup.0)*(s.sub.f /v.sub.s),

where C_j (n) represents said transfer function, L(n) represents said distance, C⁰ represents an initial value of C_j (n), L⁰ represents an initial value of L(n), s_f represents said predetermined sampling frequency, and v_s represents a sound speed.

5. A noise controller according to claim 2, further comprising a transfer-function register, coupled to the transfer-function correcting means, which stores a table for correlating a plurality of positions of the movable point with a plurality of transfer functions, the transfer-function correcting means reading out, from the table in the transfer-function register, one of the transfer functions correlated with one of the positions of the movable part, which is the closest to the position of the movable point detected by the position detecting means.

6. A noise controller according to claim 1, wherein said position detecting means includes:

ultrasonic generating means, coupled to the antinoise generating means, for generating an ultrasonic wave; and

ultrasonic sensing means, coupled to the residual-noise detecting means, for receiving the ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic generating means, the position of the movable point being expressed by a time interval in which the ultrasonic transmits from the ultrasonic generating means to the ultrasonic sensing means.

7. A noise controller according to claim 6, wherein the ultrasonic generating means comprises four ultrasonic generators.

10. A noise controller according to claim 1, further comprising:

coefficient register means, coupled to said signal processing means, for storing a table which correlates a plurality of positions of the movable point with the filter coefficients of the digital filter in said signal processing means, said table being generated by said noise detecting means said signal processing means, said coefficient renewing means and said residual-noise detecting means; and

coefficient exchanging means, coupled to said coefficient register means and said position detecting means, for selecting one of the filter coefficients stored in the coefficient register means which is correlated with one of the positions of the movable point, which is closest to the position of the movable point detected by said position detecting means, and for substituting said one of the filter coefficients for the filter coefficient which is currently used in the digital filter in said signal processing means.

11. A noise controller according to claim 1, wherein said noise detecting means comprises:

a microphone for detecting the noise;

a low pass filter, coupled to the microphone, for filtering the noise detected by the microphone; and

an analog-to-digital converter, coupled to the low pass filter, for generating the first signal by digitalizing an output of the low pass filter.

12. A noise controller according to claim 1, wherein the second signal is a digital signal, and

wherein said antinoise generating means comprises:

a digital-to-analog converter, coupled to said signal processing means, for converting the second signal into an analog signal;

a low pass filter, coupled to the digital-to-analog converter, for generating the antinoise by filtering an output of the digital-to-analog converter; and

an antinoise speaker, coupled to the low pass filter, for outputting the antinoise to the movable point.

13. A noise controller according to claim 1, wherein said antinoise generating means includes a plurality of antinoise speakers each of which outputs the antinoise to the movable point, and

wherein said residual-noise detecting means includes a plurality of microphones, each of which is located at one of a plurality of noise-controllable points, the movable point moving within a noise-controllable zone defined by the noise-controllable points, and the antinoise speakers in said antinoise generating means outputting the antinoises to the noise-controllable points, so as to noise-control the noise-controllable zone as a whole.

14. A noise controller according to claim 13, wherein said position detecting means specifies in which noise-controllable zone the movable point is located, and

wherein said noise controller further comprises:

point selecting means, coupled to said position detecting means and said antinoise generating means, for selecting at least one noise-controllable point responsible for the noise-controllable zone specified by said position detecting means; and

speaker selecting means, coupled to said position detecting means and said residual-noise detecting means, for selecting at least one antinoise speaker responsible for the noise-controllable zone detected by the position detecting means, said antinoise generating means outputting the antinoise via the antinoise speaker selected by said speaker selecting means, to the noise-controllable point selected by the point selecting means.

15. A noise controller according to claim 13, wherein said noise-controllable points are classified into fixed points and virtual points, and

wherein if the movable point is located at one of the fixed points, said coefficient renewing means renews the filter coefficient of the digital filter in said signal processing means by detecting the noise transmitted from the noise source to said movable point and a transfer function between the antinoise generating means and the movable point;

and

wherein said noise controller further comprises filter coefficient presuming means for presuming the filter coefficient of the digital filter in said signal processing means, if the movable point is located at one of the virtual points, by presuming the noise transmitted from the noise source to said movable point and the transfer function between the antinoise generating means and the movable point based on those detected by said coefficient renewing means.

8. A noise controller which noise-controls a predetermined point so that noise generated from a noise source and transmitted to the predetermined point can be reduced, said noise controller comprising:

a) noise detecting means, located near the noise source, for detecting the noise, and for generating a first signal representing the noise;

b) first single processing means including a first digital filter which has a filter coefficient, coupled to said noise detecting mean, for generating a second signal by signal-processing the first signal via the first digital filter;

c) antinoise generating means, coupled to said first signal processing means, for (1) generating an antinoise from the second signal and for (2) outputting the antinoise to the predetermined point so as to cause the antinoise to collide with the noise;

d) residual-noise detecting means, located at the movable point, for detecting a residual noise generated from the noise which was made to collide with the antinoise, and for generating a third signal representing the residual noise;

e) position detecting means for detecting a position of the movable point;

f) process memory means, coupled to said first signal processing means, for storing therein a just previously renewed filter coefficient; and

g) first coefficient renewing means, coupled to said residual-noise detecting means, said position detecting means, and said process memory means, for renewing, while converging, the filter coefficient of the first digital filter in accordance with a least mean square algorithm, by using the just previously renewed filter coefficient stored in said process memory so as to quickly converge the filter coefficient, in which least means square algorithm the filter coefficient of the first digital filter is renewed so that a squared third signal can be minimized.

9. A noise controller according to claim 8, further comprising:

signal generating means, coupled to said antinoise generating means, for generating a white noise said antinoise generating means generating an antinoise defined by said white noise, and said residual-noise detecting means detecting the antinoise defined by the white noise, and for generating a fourth signal representing the antinoise defined by the white noise;

second signal processing means including a second digital filter which has a filter coefficient, coupled to said signal generating means, for generating a fifth signal by signal-processing the white noise generated from said signal generating means;

comparing means, coupled to said residual-noise detecting mean and said second signal processing means, for comparing the fourth signal with the fifth signal; and

second coefficient renewing means, coupled to said comparing means and said second signal processing means, for receiving a comparison result of said comparing means, and for renewing the filter coefficient of the second digital filter in said second signal processing means so that the fourth signal can be equal to the fifth signal, the filter coefficient renewed by said second coefficient renewing means being stored in said process memory means to be used for the first digital filter.