Noise reduction audio reproducing device and noise reduction audio reproducing method

• US 9,245,517 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2009
• Issued: 01/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Asada, Kohei, Suzuki, Shiro, Itabashi, Tetsunori, Ohkuri, Kazunobu
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Duc
• Assistant Examiner(s): MONIKANG, GEORGE C
• Application Number:
  US12/486,054
• Publication Number:
  US 20090323976A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,414 Days
• Field of Search: 381/71.1, 381/71.2, 381/71.5, 381/71.6, 381/71.7, 381/71.8, 381/71.11, 381/71.14
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17821 characterised by the analysis of the input signals only
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17823 Reference signals, e.g. ambient acoustic environment
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17827 Desired external signals, e.g. pass-through audio such as music or speech
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/1783 handling or detecting of non-standard events or conditions, e.g. changing operating modes under specific operating conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17853 of the filter
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17857 Geometric disposition, e.g. placement of microphones
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17873 using a reference signal without an error signal, e.g. pure feedforward
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17875 using an error signal without a reference signal, e.g. pure feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17881 the reference signal being an acoustic signal, e.g. recorded with a microphone
• 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 2210/1053 Hi-fi, i.e. anything involving music, radios or loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/1081 Earphones, e.g. for telephones, ear protectors or headsets
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/065 Aids for the handicapped in understanding
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/01 Hearing devices using active noise cancellation
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/004 for microphones H04R29/007 takes precedence

Abstract

A noise reduction audio reproducing method includes the steps of: generating, from an audio signal of collected and obtained noise, an audio signal for noise cancellation to cancel the noise by synthesizing the audio signal for noise cancellation and the noise in an acoustic manner, reproducing the audio signal for noise cancellation acoustically to synthesize this with the noise in an acoustic manner; emphasizing an audio component to be listened to, of collected audio; synthesizing an audio signal with the audio component to be listened to being emphasized, and the audio signal for noise cancellation to supply the synthesized signal thereof to an electro-acoustic converting unit; and controlling so as to supply an audio signal, with the audio component to be listened to having been emphasized, to a synthesizing unit, regarding only a section based on a control signal.

Claims

1. A noise reduction audio reproducing device comprising:

a noise cancel processing unit comprising at least one processor programmed to apply digital feedforward filtering to noise collected by a microphone to provide a filtered noise signal, wherein the noise cancel processing unit is arranged to output a noise cancellation audio signal based on the filtered noise signal;

a noise reduction processing unit configured to provide an emphasized audio signal by emphasizing an audio component in a first audio signal to be listened to;

a synthesizing unit arranged to synthesize an output audio signal based on the noise cancellation audio signal and said emphasized audio signal, and to supply said output audio signal to an electro-acoustic converting unit; and

a control unit configured to perform control so as to supply said emphasized audio signal to said synthesizing unit based on a control signal, wherein the control signal, when applied to activate a switch circuit coupled between the noise reduction processing unit and the synthesizing unit, enables the emphasized audio signal to be supplied from said noise reduction processing unit to the synthesizing unit.

2. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an equalizer circuit arranged to receive a second audio signal and provide a modified second audio signal to the synthesizing unit.

4. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 1, wherein said noise reduction processing unit comprises a plurality of audio emphasizing units, the plurality of audio emphasizing units configured of units for emphasizing said audio component to be listened to by subtracting a power spectrum of the noise stored in a storage unit beforehand from the power spectrum of the input audio signal.

5. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 4, further comprising:

a power spectrum determining unit configured to obtain the power spectrum component of said noise from said input audio signal, and to store the power spectrum in said storage unit beforehand.

6. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 4, further comprising:

an operation input unit configured to accept operation input;

wherein said control unit performs control such that, the power spectrum component of said noise is obtained from said input audio signal and is stored in said storage unit in response to receipt of a first operation input by the operation input unit, said audio component to be listened to is emphasized by subtracting the power spectrum of the noise stored in said storage unit from the power spectrum of said input audio signal, and said emphasized audio signal is supplied to said synthesizing unit.

7. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 1 or claim 3, further comprising:

an operation input unit configured to accept operation input;

wherein said control unit is configured to generate said control signal based on said operation input through said operation input unit.

3. A noise reduction audio reproducing device comprising:

a noise cancellation generating unit comprising at least one processor programmed to apply digital feedforward filtering to noise collected by a microphone to provide a filtered noise signal, wherein the noise cancellation generating unit is arranged to generate a noise cancellation audio signal based on the filtered noise signal;

an electro-acoustic converting unit configured to reproduce said noise cancellation audio signal acoustically;

a noise reduction processing unit configured to provide an emphasized audio signal by emphasizing an audio component in an input signal to be listened to;

a synthesizing unit arranged to synthesize an output audio signal based on the noise cancellation audio signal and the emphasized audio signal, and to supply said output audio signal to said electro-acoustic converting unit; and

a control unit configured to perform control so as to supply said emphasized audio signal to said synthesizing unit based on a control signal, wherein the control signal, when applied to activate a switch circuit coupled between the noise reduction processing unit and the synthesizing unit, enables the emphasized audio signal to be supplied from said noise reduction processing unit to the synthesizing unit.

8. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 3, wherein said noise reduction processing unit comprises a plurality of audio emphasizing units, the plurality of audio emphasizing units configured of units for emphasizing said audio component to be listened to by subtracting a power spectrum of the noise stored in a storage unit beforehand from the power spectrum of said input audio signal.

9. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 3, wherein said noise reduction processing unit comprises a plurality of audio emphasizing units, the plurality of audio emphasizing units configured of units for emphasizing said audio component to be listened to by subtracting a power spectrum of the noise stored in a storage unit beforehand from the power spectrum of the noise cancellation audio signal from said noise cancellation generating unit.

10. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 9, further comprising:

a power spectrum determining unit configured to obtain the power spectrum component of said noise from said noise cancellation audio signal, and to store the power spectrum in said storage unit beforehand.

11. The noise reduction audio reproducing device according to claim 9, further comprising:

an operation input unit configured to accept operation input;

wherein said control unit performs control such that, the power spectrum component of said noise is obtained from said noise cancellation audio signal and is stored in said storage unit in response to receipt of a first operation input by the operation input unit, said audio component to be listened to is emphasized by subtracting the power spectrum of the noise stored in said storage unit from the power spectrum of said noise cancellation audio signal, and said emphasized audio signal is supplied to said synthesizing unit.

12. A noise reduction audio reproducing method comprising steps of:

generating a noise cancellation audio signal based on noise collected using a microphone, wherein generating the noise cancellation audio signal comprises applying digital feed-forward filtering to the noise collected using the microphone;

emphasizing an audio component of an input audio signal to be listened to provide an emphasized audio signal;

synthesizing, with a synthesizing unit, an output audio signal based on the noise cancellation audio signal and the emphasized audio signal;

supplying the output audio signal to an electro-acoustic converting unit; and

controlling when the emphasized audio signal is supplied to the synthesizing unit based on a control signal, wherein the control signal, when applied to activate a switch circuit coupled between the noise reduction processing unit and the synthesizing unit, enables the emphasized audio signal to be supplied to the synthesizing unit.

13. A noise reduction audio reproducing method comprising:

generating, from a collected and obtained audio signal of noise, a noise cancellation audio signal to cancel said noise in an input signal, wherein generating the noise cancellation audio signal comprises applying digital feed-forward filtering to the noise collected using the microphone;

reproducing said noise cancellation audio signal for noise cancellation acoustically;

emphasizing an audio component of the input signal to be listened to produce an emphasized audio signal;

synthesizing, with a synthesizing unit, an output audio signal based on said noise cancellation audio signal and said emphasized audio signal;

supplying said output audio signal to an electro-acoustic converting unit; and

controlling when the emphasized audio signal is supplied to the synthesizing unit based on a control signal, wherein the control signal, when applied to activate a switch circuit coupled between the noise reduction processing unit and the synthesizing unit, enables the emphasized audio signal to be supplied to the synthesizing unit.