Echo suppressing system, echo suppressing method, recording medium, echo suppressor, sound output device, audio system, navigation system and mobile object

• US 8,340,963 B2
• Filed: 04/08/2010
• Issued: 12/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Matsuo, Naoshi, Itou, Taisuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Paras D
• Application Number:
  US12/756,768
• Publication Number:
  US 20100191527A1
• Time in Patent Office: 992 Days
• Field of Search: 704/200, 704226-228, 704/231, 704/233, 381 711- 7114
• US Class Current: 704/226
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/20 Speech recognition techniques specially adapted for robustness in adverse environments, e.g. in noise, of stress induced speech G10L21/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/02082 the noise being echo, reverberation of the speech
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/02 for preventing acoustic reaction , i.e. acoustic oscillatory feedback specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/453

Abstract

An echo suppressing system includes: a sound output device for outputting sound based on a sound signal, including a passing section for allowing passage of a component of a different frequency band, and a plurality of sound output sections, each of which outputs sound based on each of the plurality of sound signals passed through the passing section; a summer for summing the plurality of sound signals to generate a reference sound signal; a sound input device for converting input sound into a sound signal; and an echo suppressor for suppressing echo based on the sound output by the sound output device, including an input section to which a sound signal is input from the sound input device as an observation sound signal, and a correction section for correcting the observation sound signal so as to suppress echo included in the observation sound signal.

Claims

1. An echo suppressing system, comprising:

a sound output device for outputting sound based on a sound signal, wherein the passing section comprises a plurality of bandpass filters including

a passing section for allowing passage of a component of a different frequency band for each of a plurality of sound signals, and

a plurality of sound output sections, each of which outputs sound based on each of the plurality of sound signals passed through the passing section;

a summer for summing the plurality of sound signals passed through the passing section to generate a reference sound signal;

a sound input device for converting input sound into a sound signal; and

an echo suppressor for suppressing echo based on the sound output by the sound output device from the sound input to the sound input device, including

an input section to which a sound signal is input from the sound input device as an observation sound signal, and

a correction section for correcting the observation sound signal so as to suppress echo included in the observation sound signal based on the observation sound signal and the reference sound signal,

wherein

the sound output device further includes a comparison section for comparing amplitude of a plurality of sound signals with one another for each frequency band to determine whether or not a value indicating a comparison result obtained by comparing the amplitude of one sound signal having a maximum amplitude with the amplitude of all the other sound signals is equal to or larger than a given value,

the passing section allows passage of only the one sound signal for a frequency band determined to have a value equal to or larger than a given value by the comparison section, and

the passing section derives a filter coefficient for each of the bandpass filters based on the comparison and changes the setting of the filter coefficient, when the comparison yields a sound signal equal to or larger than a given value, otherwise the passing section cancels the change of setting of the filter coefficient for each of the frequency bands when the comparison yields a sound signal equal less than a given value.

2. The echo suppressing system according to claim 1, wherein the passing section includes

a first conversion section for converting each of a plurality of sound signals into components on a frequency axis,

a band-pass filter section for allowing passage of a component of a different frequency band for each of the plurality of sound signals converted into components on a frequency axis, and

a second conversion section for converting each of the plurality of sound signals, which is converted in to components on a frequency axis by passage of a component of each frequency band, into a sound signal on a time axis.

3. The echo suppressing system according to claim 2, wherein

each of the plurality of sound signals for which the passing section allows passage of a component of a different frequency band is a processed sound signal obtained by processing a first sound signal, a second sound signal, or at least one of the first sound signal and the second sound signal by a given processing method, and

the band-pass filter section includes

a first filter coefficient set for the first sound signal,

a second filter coefficient set for the second sound signal, and

a processing filter coefficient set for the processed sound signal on the basis of at least one of the first filter coefficient and the second filter coefficient depending on a processing method.

4. The echo suppressing system according to claim 3, wherein

the processed sound signal includes

a chord signal which is a sum of the first sound signal and the second sound signal,

a delayed first sound signal which is obtained by delaying the first sound signal by a given time, and

a delayed second sound signal obtained by delaying the second sound signal by a given time, and

for the processing filter coefficient, a filter coefficient based on the sum of the first sound signal and the second sound signal is set for the chord signal, a filter coefficient based on the first filter coefficient is set for the delayed first sound signal, and a filter coefficient based on the second filter coefficient is set for the delayed second sound signal.

5. The echo suppressing system according to claim 1, wherein the passing section allows passage of a component of each frequency band divided into frequency bands by a frequency width.

6. The echo suppressing system according to claim 2, wherein the passing section allows passage of a component of each frequency band divided into frequency bands by a frequency width.

7. The echo suppressing system according to claim 3, wherein the passing section allows passage of a component of each frequency band divided into frequency bands by a frequency width.

8. The echo suppressing system according to claim 4, wherein the passing section allows passage of a component of each frequency band divided into frequency bands by a frequency width.

9. The echo suppressing system according to claim 1, wherein the passing section allows passage of a component of each frequency band for which logarithmic value of a frequency band is divided by a logarithmic-frequency width.

10. The echo suppressing system according to claim 1, wherein

the sound output device prohibits passage of a component of each frequency band corresponding to a pre-set removal band for any sound signal, and

the correction section includes

a correction filter section which derives an amount of correction to be required for correction of the observation sound signal by filtering the reference sound signal with a filter coefficient which is set for each frequency,

a coefficient renewal section for performing calculation and renewal of the filter coefficient of the correction filter based on the corrected observation sound signal, and

a renewal determination section for determining whether or not renewal by the coefficient renewal section is possible based on a component of the removal band for the observation sound signal.

11. The echo suppressing system according to claim 1, wherein the passing section changes a component of a frequency band with time for each sound signal to be passed through.

12. An echo suppressing method using a sound output device for outputting sound based on a sound signal, wherein the passing section comprises a plurality of bandpass filters, a sound input device to which sound is input, and an echo suppressor for suppressing echo based on the sound output by the sound output device from the sound input to the sound input device, the echo suppressing method comprising:

passing, using the sound output device, a component of a different frequency band for each of a plurality of sound signals;

outputting, using the sound output device, sound based on a plurality of sound signals for which components of different frequency bands passed through;

converting, using the sound input device, the input sound into a sound signal;

summing, using the echo suppressor, a plurality of sound signals for which components of different frequency bands passed through, to generate a reference sound signal,

acquiring, using the echo suppressor, a sound signal from the sound input device as an observation sound signal; and

correcting, using the echo suppressor, the observation sound signal so as to suppress echo included in the observation sound signal based on the observation sound signal and the reference sound signal,

wherein

the sound output device further includes a comparison section for comparing amplitude of a plurality of sound signals with one another for each frequency band to determine whether or not a value indicating a comparison result obtained by comparing the amplitude of one sound signal having a maximum amplitude with the amplitude of all the other sound signals is equal to or larger than a given value,

the passing section allows passage of only the one sound signal for a frequency band determined to have a value equal to or larger than a given value by the comparison section, and

the passing section derives a filter coefficient for each of the bandpass filters based on the comparison and changes the setting of the filter coefficient, when the comparison yields a sound signal equal to or larger than a given value, otherwise the passing section cancels the change of setting of the filter coefficient for each of the frequency bands when the comparison yields a sound signal equal less than a given value.

13. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium recording a program for making an echo suppressor execute, in cooperation with a sound output device for outputting sound based on a sound signal and a sound input device for generating a sound signal based on input sound, suppression of echo based on the sound output by the sound output device from the sound input to the sound input device, the program comprising:

passing, using the sound output device, a component of a different frequency band for each of a plurality of sound signals, wherein the passing section comprises a plurality of bandpass filters;

correcting, using the echo suppressor, an observation sound signal so as to suppress echo included in the observation sound signal, based on a reference sound signal generated by summing a plurality of sound signals which are output by the sound output device and for which components of different frequency bands passed through, and the observation sound signal which is a sound signal generated by the sound input device,

wherein

the sound output device further includes a comparison section for comparing amplitude of a plurality of sound signals with one another for each frequency band to determine whether or not a value indicating a comparison result obtained by comparing the amplitude of one sound signal having a maximum amplitude with the amplitude of all the other sound signals is equal to or larger than a given value,

the passing section allows passage of only the one sound signal for a frequency band determined to have a value equal to or larger than a given value by the comparison section, and

the passing section derives a filter coefficient for each of the bandpass filters based on the comparison and changes the setting of the filter coefficient, when the comparison yields a sound signal equal to or larger than a given value, otherwise the passing section cancels the change of setting of the filter coefficient for each of the frequency bands when the comparison yields a sound signal equal less than a given value.

14. An echo suppressor for suppressing, in cooperation with a sound output device for outputting sound based on a sound signal and a sound input device for generating a sound signal based on input sound, echo based on the sound output by the sound output device from the sound input to the sound input device, the echo suppressor comprising

a passing section passing, using the sound output device, a component of a different frequency band for each of a plurality of sound signals, wherein the passing section comprises a plurality of bandpass filters;

a summer for summing a plurality of sound signals which are output by the sound output device and for which components of different frequency bands passed through, to generate a reference sound signal;

an input section to which a sound signal is input from the sound input device as an observation sound signal; and

a correction section for correcting the observation sound signal so as to suppress echo included in the observation sound signal based on the observation sound signal and the reference sound signal,

wherein

the sound output device further includes a comparison section for comparing amplitude of a plurality of sound signals with one another for each frequency band to determine whether or not a value indicating a comparison result obtained by comparing the amplitude of one sound signal having a maximum amplitude with the amplitude of all the other sound signals is equal to or larger than a given value,

the passing section allows passage of only the one sound signal for a frequency band determined to have a value equal to or larger than a given value by the comparison section, and

the passing section derives a filter coefficient for each of the bandpass filters based on the comparison and changes the setting of the filter coefficient, when the comparison yields a sound signal equal to or larger than a given value, otherwise the passing section cancels the change of setting of the filter coefficient for each of the frequency bands when the comparison yields a sound signal equal less than a given value.

15. A sound output device cooperating with a sound input device for generating a sound signal based on input sound and an echo suppressor for suppressing echo based on the sound output based on the generated sound signal from the sound input to the sound input device, comprising:

a plurality of sound output sections for outputting sound based on a plurality of sound signals; and

a passing section for allowing passage of a component of a different frequency band for each of a plurality of sound signals;

wherein

the plurality of sound output sections output sound based on a plurality of sound signals passed through the passing section,

wherein the passing section comprises a plurality of bandpass filters,

wherein

the sound output device further includes a comparison section for comparing amplitude of a plurality of sound signals with one another for each frequency band to determine whether or not a value indicating a comparison result obtained by comparing the amplitude of one sound signal having a maximum amplitude with the amplitude of all the other sound signals is equal to or larger than a given value,

the passing section allows passage of only the one sound signal for a frequency band determined to have a value equal to or larger than a given value by the comparison section, and

the passing section derives a filter coefficient for each of the bandpass filters based on the comparison and changes the setting of the filter coefficient, when the comparison yields a sound signal equal to or larger than a given value, otherwise the passing section cancels the change of setting of the filter coefficient for each of the frequency bands when the comparison yields a sound signal equal less than a given value.

16. An audio system, comprising:

a sound output device for outputting sound based on a sound signal, including

a passing section for allowing passage of a component of a different frequency band for each of a plurality of sound signals, wherein the passing section comprises a plurality of bandpass filters and

a plurality of sound output sections, each of which outputs sound based on each of a plurality of sound signals passed through the passing section;

a sound input device for converting input sound into a sound signal;

a summer for summing a plurality of sound signals passed through the passing section to generate a reference sound signal;

an echo suppressor for suppressing echo based on the sound output by the sound output device from the sound input to the sound input device, including

an input section to which a sound signal is input from the sound input device as an observation sound signal,

a correction section for correcting the observation sound signal so as to suppress echo included in the observation sound signal based on the observation sound signal and the reference sound signal, and

an output section for outputting the observation sound signal corrected by the correction section to a control device; and

a controller including

a control section for controlling at least one of the sound output device, the sound input device and the echo suppressor,

an input section to which the output observation sound signal after correction is input, and

a recognition section for performing a voice recognizing process based on the corrected observation sound signal input from the input section;

wherein

the control section performs control based on a recognition result obtained by the recognition section,

wherein

the sound output device further includes a comparison section for comparing amplitude of a plurality of sound signals with one another for each frequency band to determine whether or not a value indicating a comparison result obtained by comparing the amplitude of one sound signal having a maximum amplitude with the amplitude of all the other sound signals is equal to or larger than a given value,

the passing section allows passage of only the one sound signal for a frequency band determined to have a value equal to or larger than a given value by the comparison section, and

the passing section derives a filter coefficient for each of the bandpass filters based on the comparison and changes the setting of the filter coefficient, when the comparison yields a sound signal equal to or larger than a given value, otherwise the passing section cancels the change of setting of the filter coefficient for each of the frequency bands when the comparison yields a sound signal equal less than a given value.

17. A navigation system, comprising:

a sound output device for outputting sound based on a sound signal, including

a passing section for allowing passage of a component of a different frequency band for each of a plurality of sound signals, wherein the passing section comprises a plurality of bandpass filters and

a plurality of sound output sections, each of which outputs sound based on each of a plurality of sound signals passed through the passing section;

a sound input device for converting input sound into a sound signal;

an echo suppressor for suppressing echo based on the sound output by the sound output device from the sound input to the sound input device, including

an input section to which a sound signal is input from the sound input device as an observation sound signal,

a correction section for correcting the observation sound signal so as to suppress echo included in the observation sound signal based on the observation sound signal and the reference sound signal, and

an output section for outputting the corrected observation sound signal to the navigation device;

a summer for summing a plurality of sound signals passed through the passing section to generate a reference sound signal; and

a navigation device including

a control section for performing a navigation process,

an input section to which the output observation sound signal after correction is input, and

a recognition section for performing a voice recognition process based on the corrected observation sound signal input from the input section;

wherein

the control section performs a navigation process based on a recognition result obtained by the recognition section,

wherein

the sound output device further includes a comparison section for comparing amplitude of a plurality of sound signals with one another for each frequency band to determine whether or not a value indicating a comparison result obtained by comparing the amplitude of one sound signal having a maximum amplitude with the amplitude of all the other sound signals is equal to or larger than a given value,

the passing section allows passage of only the one sound signal for a frequency band determined to have a value equal to or larger than a given value by the comparison section, and

the passing section derives a filter coefficient for each of the bandpass filters based on the comparison and changes the setting of the filter coefficient, when the comparison yields a sound signal equal to or larger than a given value, otherwise the passing section cancels the change of setting of the filter coefficient for each of the frequency bands when the comparison yields a sound signal equal less than a given value.

18. A mobile object, comprising

a sound output device for outputting sound based on a sound signal, including

a passing section for allowing passage of a component of a different frequency band for each of a plurality of sound signals, wherein the passing section comprises a plurality of bandpass filters and

a plurality of sound output sections, each of which outputs sound based on each of a plurality of sound signals passed through the passing section;

a sound input device for converting input sound into a sound signal;

an echo suppressor for suppressing echo based on the sound output by the sound output device from the sound input to the sound input device, including

an input section to which a sound signal is input from the sound input device as an observation sound signal,

a correction section for correcting the observation sound signal so as to suppress echo included in the observation sound signal based on the observation sound signal and the reference sound signal, and

an output section for outputting the corrected observation sound signal to the navigation device;

a summer for summing a plurality of sound signals passed through the passing section to generate a reference sound signal; and

a navigation device including

a control section for performing a navigation process,

an input section to which the output observation sound signal after correction is input, and

a recognition section for performing a voice recognition process based on the corrected observation sound signal input from the input section;

wherein

the control section performs a navigation process based on a recognition result obtained by the recognition section,

wherein

the sound output device further includes a comparison section for comparing amplitude of a plurality of sound signals with one another for each frequency band to determine whether or not a value indicating a comparison result obtained by comparing the amplitude of one sound signal having a maximum amplitude with the amplitude of all the other sound signals is equal to or larger than a given value,

the passing section allows passage of only the one sound signal for a frequency band determined to have a value equal to or larger than a given value by the comparison section, and

the passing section derives a filter coefficient for each of the bandpass filters based on the comparison and changes the setting of the filter coefficient, when the comparison yields a sound signal equal to or larger than a given value, otherwise the passing section cancels the change of setting of the filter coefficient for each of the frequency bands when the comparison yields a sound signal equal less than a given value.