System for active noise control with audio signal compensation

• US 8,270,626 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2012
• Issued: 09/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harman International Industries Incorporated (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Harman International Industries Incorporated (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Shridhar, Vasant, Wertz, Duane
• Primary Examiner(s): Choe, Henry
• Application Number:
  US13/419,420
• Publication Number:
  US 20120170764A1
• Time in Patent Office: 189 Days
• Field of Search: 381/71.14, 341/110, 455/103, 4551141-1143
• US Class Current: 381/71.14
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17823 Reference signals, e.g. ambient acoustic environment
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17825 Error signals
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17827 Desired external signals, e.g. pass-through audio such as music or speech
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17854 the filter being an adaptive filter
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17857 Geometric disposition, e.g. placement of microphones
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17879 using both a reference signal and an error signal
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17885 additionally using a desired external signal, e.g. pass-through audio such as music or speech
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/128 Vehicles

Abstract

An active noise control system generates an anti-noise signal to drive a speaker to produce sound waves to destructively interfere with an undesired sound in a targeted space. The speaker is also driven to produce sound waves representative of a desired audio signal. Sound waves are detected in the target space and a representative signal is generated. The representative signal is combined with an audio compensation signal to remove a signal component representative of the sound waves based on the desired audio signal and generate an error signal. The active noise control adjusts the anti-noise signal based on the error signal. The active noise control system converts the sample rates of an input signal representative of the undesired sound, the desired audio signal, and the error signal. The active noise control system converts the sample rate of the anti-noise signal.

Claims

1. A sound reduction system comprising:

a processor; and

an active noise control system executable by the processor, the active noise control system configured to;

filter a first audio channel signal with a first estimated path filter, the first estimated path filter representative of a first physical path traversed by the first audio channel signal;

filter a second audio channel signal with a second estimated path filter, the second estimated path filter representative of a second physical path traversed by the second audio channel signal that is different from the first physical path;

combine the first audio channel filtered with the first estimated path filter and the second audio channel filtered with the second estimated path filter to form a combined audio channel signal; and

generate an error signal used in generation of an anti-noise signal, the error signal generated based on the combined audio channel signal and a microphone input signal representative of audible sound at a target space.

2. The system of claim 1, where the active noise control system is further executable by the processor to combine the anti-noise signal with one of the first audio channel signal or the second audio channel signal to generate a speaker output signal used to drive a loudspeaker adjacent the target space.

3. The system of claim 1, where the active noise control system is further executable by the processor to remove a portion of the microphone input signal corresponding to the combined audio channel signal to generate the error signal.

4. The system of claim 1, where each of the first and second audio channel signals are separate audio channel signals representative of a respective audio channel used to drive a corresponding one of a plurality of respective loudspeakers, and the first physical path includes representation of a first one of the plurality of respective loudspeakers, and the second physical path includes representation of a second one of the plurality of respective loudspeakers.

5. The system of claim 1, where the active noise control system is further executable by the processor to receive the microphone input signal from a microphone positioned in the target space.

6. The system of claim 1, where the first and second audio channel signals are each used to drive a corresponding one of a plurality of respective loudspeakers, and the microphone input signal includes a component representative of audible sound from the first audio channel signal driving a first one of the plurality of respective loudspeakers, and the second audio channel signal driving a second one of the plurality of respective loudspeakers.

7. The system of claim 1, where the active noise control system is further executable by the processor to receive an undesired sound signal, the anti-noise signal generated based on the undesired sound signal and the error signal.

8. A sound reduction system comprising:

an active noise control system that includes a plurality of estimated path filters;

the active noise control system configured to receive a plurality of separate audio channel signals from an audio system, the audio channel signals including a first audio channel signal and a second audio signal;

the active noise control system further configured to apply a corresponding first one of the plurality of estimated path filters to the first audio channel signal and a second one of the plurality of estimated path filters to the second audio channel signal to generate different respective filtered audio channel signals;

the active noise control system further configured to combine the different respective filtered audio channel signals to generate a combined filtered audio channel signal; and

the active noise control system further configured to generate an anti-noise signal for combination with one of the first audio channel signal or the second audio channel signal to drive a loudspeaker, the anti-noise signal generated using the combined filtered audio channel signal.

9. The system of claim 8, where the active noise control system is further configured to receive a microphone signal representative of audible sound in a target space, and to remove a component from the microphone signal using the combined filtered audio channel signal to generate an error signal, the error signal used to generate the anti-noise signal.

10. The system of claim 9, where the component is representative of audible sound produced at the target space with the first audio channel signal and the second audio channel signal.

11. The system of claim 9, where the active noise control system is further configured to receive an undesired sound signal representative of an undesired sound detected with a sensor, and to generate the anti-noise signal using the undesired sound signal and the error signal.

12. The system of claim 8, where the loudspeaker is a first corresponding loudspeaker, the different respective filtered audio channel signals are first different respective filtered audio channel signals, the anti-noise signal is a first anti-noise signal, and the second audio channel signal is used to drive a corresponding second loudspeaker, and the active noise control system is further configured to apply a corresponding third one of the plurality of estimated path filters to the first audio channel signal and a fourth one of the plurality of estimated path filters to the second audio channel signal to generate second different respective filtered audio channel signals, the active noise control system further configured to generate a second anti-noise signal for combination with the second audio channel signal to drive the second corresponding loudspeaker, the second anti-noise signal generated using the second combined filtered audio channel signal.

13. The system of claim 8, where the plurality of estimated path filters include at least two different estimated path filters corresponding to each of the separate audio channel signals.

14. The system of claim 13, where each of the estimated path filters are representative of a different physical path within the active noise control system.

15. A sound reduction system comprising:

an active noise control system configured to receive a plurality of separate and independent audio channel signals from an audio system;

the active noise control system further configured to provide a plurality of speaker outputs to drive a plurality of respective loudspeakers;

the active noise control system including a plurality of estimated path filters, each corresponding to at least a portion of an estimated physical path that includes representation of a physical path traversed by sound waves output by respective loudspeakers;

the active noise control system further configured to independently apply at least two different estimated path filters to each of the respective audio channel signals to generate multiple filtered audio channel signals for each of the respective audio channel signals; and

the active noise control system further configured to generate an anti-noise signal from the multiple filtered audio channel signals.

16. The system of claim 15, where the active noise control system is further configured to combine the anti-noise signal with a corresponding one of the respective audio channel signals received from the audio system to form the speaker outputs.

17. The system of claim 15, where the active noise control system is configured to combine one of the multiple filtered audio channel signals from a first respective audio channel with one of the multiple filtered audio channel signals from a second respective audio channel to generate a combined filtered audio channel signal, the combined filtered audio channel signal used to generate an error signal to dynamically adjust the anti-noise signal.

18. The system of claim 17, where the active noise control system is further configured to combine the combined filtered audio channel signal with a microphone input signal to remove a component from the microphone input signal representative of the first and second respective audio channels and generate the error signal, the microphone input signal received by the active noise control system.

19. The system of claim 17, where the active noise control system is configured to receive an undesired noise signal provided from a sensor, the active noise control system further configured to dynamically adjust the anti-noise signal based on the undesired noise signal and the error signal.

20. The system of claim 15, where each of the plurality of estimated path filters represents a different estimated physical path that includes physical space and signal processing by the active noise control system.