System for improving communication in a room
First Claim
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1. A system for improving the acoustical communication between interlocutors in a room comprising:
- a first microphone located in the vicinity of a first interlocutor in the room for generating a first sensed signal adjacent to the first interlocutor;
a second microphone located in the vicinity of a second interlocutor in the room for generating a second sensed signal adjacent to the second interlocutor;
at least one loudspeaker located in the room for converting electrical signals into acoustical output signals; and
a signal processing unit that receives and processes the first and second sensed signals, and provides processed microphone signals to the at least one loudspeaker;
where the processed microphone signals are each time delayed by the signal processing unit such that the acoustical output signal arriving at the first interlocutor is perceived by the first interlocutor to originate from the direction of the second interlocutor.
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Abstract
Improving the acoustical communication between interlocutors in at least two positions in a room includes generating electrical signals representative of acoustical signals present at the respective interlocutor positions, amplifying each of the electrical signals and converting the amplified electrical signals into acoustical signals. A time delay is applied to the electrical signals such that the acoustical signal arriving first at one of the interlocutor positions originates from the direction of the other interlocutor position.
21 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A system for improving the acoustical communication between interlocutors in a room comprising:
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a first microphone located in the vicinity of a first interlocutor in the room for generating a first sensed signal adjacent to the first interlocutor; a second microphone located in the vicinity of a second interlocutor in the room for generating a second sensed signal adjacent to the second interlocutor; at least one loudspeaker located in the room for converting electrical signals into acoustical output signals; and a signal processing unit that receives and processes the first and second sensed signals, and provides processed microphone signals to the at least one loudspeaker; where the processed microphone signals are each time delayed by the signal processing unit such that the acoustical output signal arriving at the first interlocutor is perceived by the first interlocutor to originate from the direction of the second interlocutor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for improving the acoustical communication between interlocutors in at least two positions in a room, the method comprising the steps of:
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sensing an acoustical signal adjacent to a first interlocutor in the room and providing a first sensed signal indicative thereof; sensing an acoustical signal adjacent to a second interlocutor in the room and providing a second sensed signal indicative thereof; amplifying the first sensed signal to provide a first amplified signal and amplifying the second sensed signal to provide a second amplified signal; converting the amplified first and second signals into acoustical signals; where the first and second sensed signals are each time delayed such that the acoustical signal arriving first at one of the interlocutor positions originates from the direction of the other interlocutor position. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification