High precision beamsteerer based on fixed beamforming approach beampatterns

• US 7,792,313 B2
• Filed: 03/10/2005
• Issued: 09/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitel Networks Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitel Networks Corporation
• Inventors: Moquin, Philippe, Dedieu, Stephane
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin; Vivian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kurr; Jason R
• Application Number:
  US11/075,811
• Publication Number:
  US 20050201204A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,007 Days
• Field of Search: 381/92, 381/56, 381/91, 381/122, 367/118, 367/119, 367/120, 367/121, 367/122, 367/123
• US Class Current: 381/92
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/8006 Multi-channel systems specially adapted for direction-finding, i.e. having a single aerial system capable of giving simultaneous indications of the directions of different signals
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/346 using phase variation
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/348 using amplitude variation
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407

Abstract

A beamsteerer for broadband energy source location, comprising an array of sensors, each for generating a signal vector within one of a plurality of sectors in a domain of interest, and a beamformer for receiving and multiplying each signal vector by a set of optimal weight vectors to generate a plurality of beampatterns, each of the beampatterns being characterized by a null having high angular resolution, and detecting the source by selecting a maximum steering index.

Claims

1. A beamsteerer for locating a source of desired non-noise audio, the beamsteerer comprising:

an array of sensors, each of said sensors having a signal vector d within one of N sectors in a domain of interest; and

a beamformer for receiving and multiplying each said signal vector d by a set of N weight vectors w_i in said domain of interest to generate a plurality of beampatterns in said N sectors, each of said beampatterns being characterized by a null having high angular resolution, and detecting said source at a position (θ

,φ

), of lowest energy in said domain of interest, by selecting a maximum steering index (SI) where

2. The beamsteerer of claim 1, wherein sensors are arranged in two-dimensions on a reflecting plane.

3. The beamsteerer of claim 2, wherein each of said sensors is a microphone.

4. The beamsteerer of claim 2, further comprising a voice activity detector connected to said beamformer for detecting voice activity to thereby distinguish human voice from noise.

5. The beamsteerer of claim 2, wherein detection of said source is used to steer on of either a video camera or a directional microphone or microphone array.

6. The beamsteerer of claim 1, wherein said sensors are arranged in three-dimensions in free field.

7. The beamsteerer of claim 6, wherein each of said sensors is a microphone.

8. The beamsteerer of claim 6, further comprising a voice activity detector connected to said beamformer for detecting voice activity to thereby distinguish human voice from noise.

9. The beamsteerer of claim 6, wherein detection of said source is used to steer one of either a video camera or a directional microphone or microphone array.

10. The beamsteerer of claim 1, wherein said sensors are arranged in three-dimensions on an obstacle.

11. The beamsteerer of claim 10, wherein each of said sensors is a microphone.

12. The beamsteerer of claim 10, further comprising a voice activity detector connected to said beamformer for detecting voice activity to thereby distinguish human voice from noise.

13. The beamsteerer of claim 10, wherein detection of said source is used to steer one of either a video camera or a directional microphone or microphone array.

14. The beamsteerer of claim 1, wherein each of said sensors is a microphone.

15. The beamsteerer of claim 1, further comprising a voice activity detector connected to said beamformer for detecting voice activity to thereby distinguish human voice from noise.

16. The beamsteerer of claim 1, wherein detection of said source is used to steer one of either a video camera or a directional microphone or microphone array.