Method and system of representing an acoustic field

• US 7,212,956 B2
• Filed: 05/06/2003
• Issued: 05/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Arnaud Laborie, Rémy Bruno, Sébastien Montoya
• Original Assignee: Arnaud Laborie, Rémy Bruno, Sébastien Montoya
• Inventors: Laborie, Arnaud, Bruno, Rémy, Montoya, Sébastien
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoff; Marc S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Suarez; Felix
• Application Number:
  US10/513,871
• Publication Number:
  US 20050177606A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,456 Days
• Field of Search: 702/71, 702/77, 702/122, 702/125, 702/159, 702/189, 702/191, 702/196, 702/197, 736/33, 367/124, 381/71.5, 700/94
• US Class Current: 702/190
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407

Abstract

A method of representing a sound field includes the steps of acquiring measurement signals (c_n) which are delivered by simple sensors (2_n) that are exposed to sound field (P) determining encoding filters which are representative of at least the structural characteristics of the sensors and processing the measurement signals (c_n) by applying the encoding filters to the signals (c_n), in order to determine a finite number of representative coefficients over time and in the three-dimensional space of the sound field (P).

Claims

1. Method for representing an acoustic field comprising the steps of:

using acquisition means comprising one or more elementary sensors that are exposed to said acoustic field to obtain measurement signals that are measurements of the acoustic field by the acquisition means and that are dependant on characteristics of the acquisition means;

determining encoding filters that are representative of at least the structural characteristics of said acquisition means;

processing said measurement signals by applying said encoding filters to these signals in order to determine a finite number of coefficients representative over time and in the three-dimensional space of said acoustic field, said coefficients being representative of said acoustic field and substantially independent of the characteristics of said acquisition means; and

issuing a representation of said acoustic field based on said coefficients.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein said structural characteristics comprise at least position characteristics of said elementary sensors relative to a predetermined reference point of said acquisition means.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein said encoding filters are also representative of electro-acoustic characteristics of said acquisition means.

4. Method according to claim 3, wherein, said electro-acoustic characteristics comprise at least characteristics related to intrinsic electro-acoustic acquisition capacities of said elementary sensors.

5. Method according to claim 1, wherein said coefficients are Fourier-Bessel coefficients and/or linear combinations of Fourier-Bessel coefficients.

6. Method according to claim 1 further comprising a calibration step allowing all or some of the parameters used in said step involving the determination of the encoding filters, to be issued.

7. Method according to claim 6, wherein said calibration step comprises, for at least one of said elementary sensors forming said acquisition means:

a substep involving the acquisition of signals that are representative of the acquisition capacities of said at least one sensor; and

a sub-step involving the determination of parameters representative of electro-acoustic and/or structural characteristics of said at least one sensor.

8. Method according to claim 7, wherein said calibration step further comprises:

a substep involving the emission of a specific acoustic field toward said at least one sensor, said acquisition sub-step corresponding to the acquisition of the signals issued by this sensor when it is exposed to said specific acoustic field; and

a sub-step involving the modelling of said specific acoustic field in a finite number of coefficients, in order to allow said sub-step involving the determination of parameters that are representative of electro-acoustic and/or structural characteristics of the sensor to be carried out.

9. Method according to claim 6, wherein said calibration step comprises a sub-step involving the reception of a finite number of signals that are representative of the electro-acoustic and structural characteristics of said sensors forming said acquisition means, which signals are used directly during said sub-step involving the determination of the electro acoustic and/or structural characteristics of said acquisition means.

10. Method according to claim 1, further comprising an input step, allowing all or some of the parameters used during said step involving the determination of the encoding filters, to be determined.

15. Computer program embodied in a computer-readable medium and comprising code instructions for implementing the steps of the method according to claim 1, when said program is executed on a computer.

16. Movable support comprising at least one operation processor and a non-volatile memory element readable by said processor, wherein said memory element comprises a program comprising code instructions for implementing the steps of the method according to claim 1, when said processor executes said program.

11. Method for representing an acoustic field comprising the steps of:

using acquisition means comprising one or more elementary sensors that are exposed to the acoustic field to obtain measurement signals that are measurements of the acoustic field by said acquisition means and that are dependant on characteristics of said acquisition means;

determining encoding filters that are representative of structural characteristics of said acquisition means;

processing the measurement signals by applying the encoding filters to the measurement signals to determine a finite number of coefficients representative over time and in a three-dimensional space of the acoustic field, the coefficients being representative of the acoustic field and substantially independent of characteristics of the acquisition means; and

issuing a representation of the acoustic field based on the coefficients,

wherein said determining step comprises;

a sub-step involving the determination of a sampling matrix that is representative of the acquisition capacities of said acquisition means;

a sub-step involving the determination of an intercorrelation matrix that is representative of the similarity between said measurement signals issued by the elementary sensors forming said acquisition means; and

a substep involving the determination of an encoding matrix from said sampling matrix, said intercorrelation matrix and a parameter that is representative of a desired compromise between faithfulness of representation of the acoustic field and minimization of the background noise caused by the acquisition means, which matrix is representative of said encoding filters.

12. Method according to claim 11, wherein said sub-steps involving the determination of the matrices are carried out for a finite number of operating frequencies.

13. Method according to claim 11, wherein said step involving the determination of the sampling matrix is carried out, for each of said elementary sensors forming said acquisition means, from:

parameters that are representative of the position of said sensor relative to the center of said acquisition means; and

/or

a finite number of coefficients that are representative of the acquisition capacities of said sensor.

14. Method according to claim 13, wherein said step involving the determination of the sampling matrix is also carried out from at least one of the following parameters:

parameters that are representative of the frequency responses of all or some of the sensors;

parameters that are representative of the directivity diagrams of all or some of the sensors;

parameters that are representative of the maximum sensitivity direction of all or some of the sensors;

parameters that are representative of the power spectral densities of the background noise of all or some of the sensors;

a parameter specifying the order in which the representation is conducted;

a parameter that is representative of a list of coefficients, the power of which must be equal to the power of the corresponding coefficient in the acoustic field to be represented.

17. Device for representing an acoustic field, comprising:

acquisition means that have one or more elementary sensors that issue measurement signals when they are exposed to said acoustic field, the measurement signals being dependent on characteristics of said acquisition means; and

a module for processing the measurement signals by applying encoding filters that are representative of at least the structural characteristics of said acquisition means to these measurement signals, in order to issue a signal that comprises a finite number of coefficients representative over time and in the three-dimensional space of said acoustic field, said coefficients being representative of said acoustic field and substantially independent of the characteristics of said acquisition means.

18. Device according to claim 17, wherein said encoding filters are also representative of electro-acoustic characteristics of said acquisition means.

19. Device according to claim 17, wherein it further comprises means for determining said encoding filters that are representative of structural and/or electro-acoustic characteristics of said acquisition means.

20. Device according to claim 19, wherein said means for determining encoding filters receive at the input at least one of the following parameters:

parameters that are representative of the positions, relative to center of said acquisition means, of all or some of the sensors;

a finite number of coefficients that are representative of the acquisition capacities of all or some of the sensors;

parameters that are representative of the frequency responses of all or some of the sensors;

parameters that are representative of the directivity patterns of all or some of the sensors;

parameters that are representative of the maximum sensitivity direction of all or some of the sensors;

parameters that are representative of the power spectral densities of the background noise of all or some of the sensors;

a parameter that is representative of the desired compromise between faithfulness of representation of the acoustic field and minimization of the background noise caused by the acquisition means;

a parameter specifying the order in which the encoding is conducted;

a parameter that is representative of a list of coefficients, the power of which must be equal to the power of the corresponding coefficient in the acoustic field to be represented.

21. Device according to claim 20, further comprising further means for determining all or some of the parameters received by said means for determining the encoding filters, said further means comprising at least one of the following elements:

means for inputting parameters; and

/or

calibration means.

22. Device according to claim 17, further comprising means for formatting said measurement signals, in order to issue a corresponding formatted signal.