Coding, modification and synthesis of speech segments

• US 8,812,324 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2010
• Issued: 08/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Telefonica SA
• Original Assignee: Telefonica SA
• Inventors: Rodriguez Crespo, Miguel Angel, Escalada Sardina, Jose Gregorio, Armenta Lopez de Vicuna, Ana
• Primary Examiner(s): AZAD, ABUL K
• Application Number:
  US13/254,479
• Publication Number:
  US 20110320207A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,337 Days
• Field of Search: 704/220, 704258-269
• US Class Current: 704/268
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/033 Voice editing, e.g. manipulating the voice of the synthesiser
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/06 Elementary speech units used in speech synthesisers; Concatenation rules
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/093 using sinusoidal excitation models

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for speech signal analysis, modification and synthesis comprising a phase for the location of analysis windows by means of an iterative process for the determination of the phase of the first sinusoidal component and comparison between the phase value of said component and a predetermined value, a phase for the selection of analysis frames corresponding to an allophone and readjustment of the duration and the fundamental frequency according to certain thresholds and a phase for the generation of synthetic speech from synthesis frames taking the information of the closest analysis frame as spectral information of the synthesis frame and taking as many synthesis frames as periods that the synthetic signal has. The method allows a coherent location of the analysis windows within the periods of the signal and the exact generation of the synthesis instants in a manner synchronous with the fundamental period.

Claims

1. Method for speech signal analysis, modification and synthesis comprising:

a. a phase for the location of analysis windows by means of an iterative process for the determination of the phase of the first sinusoidal component of the signal and comparison between the phase value of said component and a predetermined value until finding a position for which the phase difference represents a time shift less than half a speech sample

b. a phase for the selection of analysis frames corresponding to an allophone and readjustment of the duration and the fundamental frequency according to a model, such that if the difference between the original duration or the original fundamental frequency and those which are to be imposed exceeds certain thresholds, the duration and the fundamental frequency are adjusted to generate synthesis frames,

c. a phase for the generation of synthetic speech from synthesis frames, taking the information of the closest analysis frame as spectral information of the synthesis frame and taking as many synthesis frames as periods that the synthetic signal has.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein once the first analysis window is located, the following one is sought by shifting half a period and so on and so forth.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein a phase correction is performed by adding a linear component to the phase of all the sinusoids of the frame.

4. Method according to claim 1, wherein the modification threshold for the duration is less than 25%.

5. Method according to claim 4, wherein the modification threshold for the duration is less than 15%.

6. Method according to claim 1, wherein the modification threshold for the fundamental frequency is less than 15%.

7. Method according to claim 6, wherein the modification threshold for the fundamental frequency is less than 10%.

8. Method according to claim 1, wherein the phase for generation from the synthesis frames is performed by overlap and add with triangular windows.

9. Use of the method of claim 1 in text-to-speech converters.

10. Use of the method of claim 1 for improving the intelligibility of speech recordings.

11. Use of the method of claim 1 for concatenating voice recording segments differentiated in any characteristics of their spectrum.