Head mounted surround sound system

• US 6,144,747 A
• Filed: 11/24/1998
• Issued: 11/07/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: IMAX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Sonics Associates, Incorporated (IMAX Corporation)
• Inventors: Scofield, William Clayton, Saunders, Stevan Otha
• Primary Examiner(s): Isen, Forester W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mei, Xu
• Application Number:
  US09/200,396
• Time in Patent Office: 714 Days
• Field of Search: 381/1, 381/17, 381/18, 381/19, 381/20, 381/21, 381/303, 381/304, 381/305, 381/309, 381/310, 381/311, 381/27, 381/26, 381/37, 381/74, 381/FOR 125, 381/FOR 165 , 381/FOR 149, 381/FOR 187
• US Class Current: 381/309
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/033 Headphones for stereophonic communication details thereof, e.g. relating to batteries, cables or control elements H04R1/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 1/005 For headphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2400/01 Multi-channel, i.e. more than two input channels, sound reproduction with two speakers wherein the multi-channel information is substantially preserved
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 3/004 For headphones

Abstract

A head mounted surround sound virtual positioning system that includes a video recorder (200), which is operable to have disposed therein a tape (202), having a surround sound audio track associated therewith. The surround sound system is encoded on two channels, which are output to a Dolby® decoder (204), which is operable to extract the five surround sound system channels therefrom. The left front, left rear, right front and right rear channels are input to a virtual positioning system (264), which is operable to virtually position each of the speakers relative to the head of the listener (26). These signals are then combined with a combining circuit (268) to provide the virtual positioning of only two speaker lines (58) and (60), disposed adjacent the right and left ears of the listener (26). The speakers (58) and (60) are disposed on the head mounted system such that they are fixed relative to, the ear of the listener and slightly forward of the ears and adjacent the head. The center speaker signal output of the decoder (204) is output from a separate external speaker (310).

Claims

1. A personal surround sound system for an individual listener, comprising:

a receiver for receiving the individual decoded speaker signals corresponding to a single original performance or sound track for a surround sound system comprised of four speaker signals, left front, left rear, right front and right rear speaker signals representing sound sources disposed in an azimuthal plane in respective first positions;

a head mounted binaural speaker system having a right binaural speaker disposed proximate to the right ear of the listener and a left binaural speaker disposed proximate to the left ear of the speaker;

a virtual positioning system for positioning each of said left front, left rear, right front and right rear speaker signals relative to the listener such that said virtually positioned left front, left rear, right front and right rear speaker signals can be transmitted proximate to the right and left ear of the listener as binaural signals through said right and left binaural speakers, but are actually perceived by the listener as being within, or displaced above or below said azimuthal plane relative to said first positions of the associated left front, left rear, right front and right rear speaker signals; and

a combiner for combining said virtually positioned left front, left rear, right front and right rear speaker signals such that all four virtually positioned left front, left rear, right front and right rear speaker signals are combined to drive said right and left binaural speakers.

2. The personal surround sound system of claim 1, wherein said receiver is operable to further receive a center speaker signal for the surround sound system and output the center speaker signal on an external speaker disposed in front of the listener.

3. The personal surround sound system of claim 2, and further comprising a summation circuit for summing together a portion of each of said left front, left rear, right front and right rear speaker signals as a composite signal with said center speaker signal for output on said center speaker.

4. The personal surround sound system of claim 3 and further comprising a delay circuit for introducing a predetermined amount of delay into the signal input to said center speaker.

5. The personal surround sound system of claim 1, and further comprising a video device for containing an encoded surround sound system audio track with surround sound speaker signals comprised of said left front, left rear, right front and right rear speaker signals encoded therein and a decoder for decoding said surround sound system speaker signals from said audio track for input to said receiver.

6. The personal surround sound system of claim 1, wherein said right binaural speaker and said left binaural speaker are mounted on a support bracket disposed on the head of the listener and directed rearward toward the ears and disposed away from the ears.

7. The personal surround sound system of claim 6, wherein said right binaural speaker and said left binaural speaker are disposed proximate to the zygomatic arch on the respective side of the head of the listener and directed rearward toward the respective ear of the listener.

8. The personal surround sound system of claim 1, wherein said receiver is further operable to receive a center speaker signal in addition to the four speaker signals and said virtual positioning system is operable to position said center speaker signal as a virtually positioned center speaker signal such that it can be transmitted proximate the right and left ear of the listener as binaural signals through said right and left binaural speakers, but is actually perceived by the listener as being at the intended position of said center speaker signal in the front of the listener, and said combiner is operable to combine said virtually positioned center speaker signal with said four virtually positioned, left front, left rear, right front and right rear speaker signals.

9. A method for reproducing a surround sound audio track proximate to the head of an individual listener, comprising the steps of:

receiving individual decoded speaker signals corresponding to a single original performance or sound track for a surround sound system comprised of four speaker signals, a left front, a left rear, a right front and a right rear speaker signal representing sound sources disposed in an azimuthal plane in respective first positions;

virtually positioning each of the left front, left rear, right front and right rear speaker signals such that they can be transmitted proximate to the right and left ear of the listener as binaural signals, but are actually perceived by the listener as being within, or displaced above or below the azimuthal plane relative to the first positions of the associated left front, left rear, right front and right rear speaker signals;

disposing a right speaker proximate to the right ear of the listener and a left speaker proximate to the left ear of a speaker; and

combining the virtually positioned left front, left rear, right front and right rear speaker signals in the left speaker and right speaker such that all four virtually positioned left front, left rear, right front and right rear speaker signals are combined to drive the right and left speakers.

10. The method of claim 9, and further comprising:

providing a video device having a surround sound audio track disposed thereon having the left front, left rear, right front and right rear speaker signals encoded therein; and

extracting the audio track from the video device and decoding the left front, left rear, right front and right rear speaker signals therefrom for the step of receiving.

11. The method of claim 9, and further comprising:

receiving a center speaker signal associated with the surround sound system;

providing an external center speaker; and

driving an external center speaker with the center speaker signal in front of the listener.

12. The method of claim 11, and further comprising summing together a portion of each of the left front, left rear, right front and right rear speaker signals as a composite signal with the center speaker signal for output on the center speaker.

13. The method of claim 12 and further comprising introducing a predetermined amount of delay into the signal input to the center speaker.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of disposing the right speaker proximate to the right ear of the listener and the left speaker proximate to the left ear of the listener comprises:

disposing a head mounted bracket on the head of the listener;

mounting the right speaker on the bracket proximate to the right ear of the listener and then directed rearward toward the right ear of the listener; and

mounting the left speaker on the bracket and directed rearward toward the left ear of the listener.