Sound field control device

• US 5,727,067 A
• Filed: 08/09/1996
• Issued: 03/10/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: Iwamatsu, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz, Curtis
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mei, Xu
• Application Number:
  US08/694,548
• Time in Patent Office: 578 Days
• Field of Search: 381/1, 381/17, 381/18, 381/63, 381/61
• US Class Current: 381/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 3/00 Systems employing more than two channels, e.g. quadraphonic H04S5/00, H04S7/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/305 Electronic adaptation of stereophonic audio signals to reverberation of the listening space H04S7/301 takes precedence

Abstract

A sound field control device includes a surround decoder for decoding an input surround encode signal and generating three channel signals of L, C and R to be reproduced in front left, front center and front right and one channel signal of S to be reproduced in the rear, output terminals for outputting the three channel signals, a first reflected sound generation section generating a reflected sound of the signal S, a second reflected sound generation section generating another reflected sound signal of the signal S, a first adder adding the reflected sound signal generated by the first reflected sound generation section and the signal S together, a phase shifting section shifting phase of the reflected sound signal generated by the second reflected sound generation section according to frequency of the reflected sound signal, a second adder adding a reflected sound signal provided by the phase shifting section and the signal S together, and output terminals for outputting signals of RL and RR channels for reproduction in rear left and rear right positions or reverse positions. At least one of the first and second adders adds the reflected sound signal and the signal S together at a rate at which a value obtained by dividing level of the reflected sound signal by level of the signal S will become 0.5 or over.

Claims

1. A sound field control device comprising:

a surround decoder for decoding an input surround encode signal and thereby generating three channel signals of L, C and R which are assumed to be reproduced respectively in front left, front center and front right positions and one channel signal of S which is assumed to be reproduced in a rear position;

output terminals for outputting the three channel signals of L, C and R for reproduction in the front left, front center and front right positions;

first reflected sound generation means for generating a reflected sound of the signal S;

second reflected sound generation means for generating another reflected sound signal of the signal S;

first addition means for adding the reflected sound signal generated by the first reflected sound generation means and the signal S together;

phase shifting means for shifting phase of the reflected sound signal generated by the second reflected sound generation means in accordance with frequency of the reflected sound signal;

second addition means for adding a reflected sound signal provided by the phase shifting means and the signal S together; and

output terminals for outputting signals of RL and RR channels for reproduction of these signals in rear left and rear right positions or reverse positions,

at least one of said first and second addition means adding the reflected sound signal and the signal S together at a rate at which a value obtained by dividing level of the reflected sound signal by level of the signal S will become 0.5 or over.

2. A sound field control device as defined in claim 1 which further comprises addition means for generating a reflected sound which simulates a reflected sound produced when a reflected sound of the signal C is reflected from a hypothetic rear wall provided in the rear of a listener, delaying the signal C by a period of time necessary for realizing a delay time of the reflected sound from the hypothetic rear wall, correcting frequency characteristic of the signal C by imparting it with a band cutting characteristic for simulating a characteristic of the reflected sound to make a circuit round listener'"'"'s ears, and adding the thus processed signal C to the signal S applied to the first and second reflected sound generation means at a desired ratio of level.

3. A sound field control device as defined in claim 1 wherein the input surround encode signal is two channel signals of Lt and Rt and which further comprises input difference signal addition means for adding a difference signal Lt-Rt between the input signals Lt and Rt to the signal S applied to the first and second reflected sound generation means at a desired ratio of level.