Method and apparatus for smoothing fundamental frequency discontinuities across synthesized speech segments
First Claim
1. A method of smoothing fundamental frequency discontinuities at boundaries of concatenated speech segments, each speech segment characterized by a segment fundamental frequency contour and including two or more frames, comprising:
- determining, for each speech segment, a beginning fundamental frequency value and an ending fundamental frequency value;
adjusting the fundamental frequency contour of each of the speech segments according to a predetermined function calculated for each particular speech segment according to a coupled spring model, wherein parameters characterizing each predetermined function are selected according to the beginning fundamental frequency value and the ending fundamental frequency value of the corresponding speech segment.
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Abstract
A method of smoothing fundamental frequency discontinuities at boundaries of concatenated speech segments includes determining, for each speech segment, a beginning fundamental frequency value and an ending fundamental frequency value. The method further includes adjusting the fundamental frequency contour of each of the speech segments according to a linear function calculated for each particular speech segment, and dependent on the beginning and ending fundamental frequency values of the corresponding speech segment. The method calculates the linear function for each speech segment according to a coupled spring model with three springs for each segment. A first spring constant, associated with the first spring and the second spring, is proportional to a duration of voicing in the associated speech segment. A second spring constant, associated with the third spring, models a non-linear restoring force that resists a change in slope of the segment fundamental frequency contour.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method of smoothing fundamental frequency discontinuities at boundaries of concatenated speech segments, each speech segment characterized by a segment fundamental frequency contour and including two or more frames, comprising:
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determining, for each speech segment, a beginning fundamental frequency value and an ending fundamental frequency value; adjusting the fundamental frequency contour of each of the speech segments according to a predetermined function calculated for each particular speech segment according to a coupled spring model, wherein parameters characterizing each predetermined function are selected according to the beginning fundamental frequency value and the ending fundamental frequency value of the corresponding speech segment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A system for smoothing fundamental frequency discontinuities at boundaries of concatenated speech segments, each speech segment characterized by a segment fundamental frequency contour and including two or more frames, comprising:
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a unit characterization processor for receiving the speech segments and characterizing each segment with respect to a beginning fundamental frequency and an ending fundamental frequency; a fundamental frequency adjustment processor for receiving the speech segments, the beginning fundamental frequency and ending fundamental frequency, and for adjusting the fundamental frequency contour of each of the speech segments according to a predetermined function calculated for each particular speech segment according to a coupled spring model, wherein parameters characterizing each predetermined function are selected according to the beginning fundamental frequency value and the ending fundamental frequency value of the corresponding speech segment. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification