System to control audio effect parameters of vocal signals

• US 9,424,859 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2012
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cor-Tek Corporation
• Original Assignee: Harman International Industries Canada Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Campbell, Norm, Lupini, Peter, Rutledge, Glen
• Primary Examiner(s): COLUCCI, MICHAEL C
• Application Number:
  US13/683,829
• Publication Number:
  US 20140142927A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,371 Days
• Field of Search: 704/201, 704/500, 704/233, 704/228, 704/226, 846/69, 846/13, 846/10, 846/04, 846/00, 715/716, 709/206, 381/94.7, 381/92, 381/71.1, 381/313, 381/17, 381/13
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0091 Means for obtaining special acoustic effects combined with modulation G10H1/043
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/315 Dynamic effects for musical purposes, i.e. musical sound effects controlled by the amplitude of the time domain audio envelope, e.g. loudness-dependent tone color or musically desired dynamic range compression or expansion crossfading or envelope processing per se G10H2250/025
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/211 for microphones, i.e. control of musical parameters either directly from microphone signals or by physically associated peripherals, e.g. karaoke control switches or rhythm sensing accelerometer within the microphone casing microphones per se H04R
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/00 Speech or voice signal processing techniques to produce another audible or non-audible signal, e.g. visual or tactile, in order to modify its quality or its intelligibility G10L19/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407

Abstract

A vocal effect processing system may include an effect modification module configured to selectively and dynamically apply effects to an input audio signal in accordance with a degree of likelihood that the input audio signal includes a vocal signal and/or based on a proximate location of a source of vocal audio with respect to a vocal microphone. Determination of the degree of likelihood that the input audio signal includes a vocal signal and/or the proximate location may be based on processing of the input audio signal or a plurality of input audio signals. Determination of the proximate location may alternatively, or in addition, be estimated based on a proximity sensor. The effect modification module may dynamically and selectively adjust the effects in response to changes in the degree of likelihood that the vocal signal is included in the input audio signal and/or changes in the estimated proximate location.

Claims

1. A vocal effect processing system comprising:

a processor;

an input signal processing module executable by the processor to receive an audio signal from a vocal microphone, the audio signal representative of a vocal signal detected by the vocal microphone; and

an effect modification module executable by the processor to estimate a proximate location of a source of the vocal signal with respect to the vocal microphone, the effect modification module further configured to apply an effect to the audio signal in accordance with the estimated proximate location of the source of the vocal signal,

wherein the audio signal is a plurality of audio signals received from a plurality of microphones,

wherein a first audio signal of the plurality of audio signals is indicative of a first vocal signal that is received from a first microphone of the plurality of microphones and a second audio signal of the plurality of audio signals is indicative of a second vocal signal that is received from a second microphone of the plurality of microphones, and

wherein the effect modification module is executable by the processor to employ predictive analysis to avoid cross fading between the first vocal signal and the second vocal signal when at least an estimated activation target is determined as being positioned at a location that is equal between the first microphone and the second microphone.

2. The vocal effect processing system of claim 1, where estimation of the proximate location of the source of the vocal signal is based on analysis of the audio signal.

3. The vocal effect processing system of claim 1, where estimation of the proximate location of the source of the vocal signal comprises estimation of a distance between the vocal microphone and the source of the vocal signal based on a signal received from a proximity sensor.

4. The vocal effect processing system of claim 1, where application of the effect to the audio signal by the effect modification module in accordance with the estimated proximate location of the source of the vocal signal comprises modification of the effect based on the estimated proximate location.

5. The vocal effect processing system of claim 1, wherein the effect modification module is executable by the processor to employ the predictive analysis via hysteresis to avoid cross fading between the first vocal signal and the second vocal signal when at least an estimated activation target is determined as being equal between the first microphone and the second microphone.

6. A vocal effect processing system comprising:

a processor;

a proximity determination module executable by the processor to receive from a vocal microphone an audio signal representing a vocal signal generated by a sound source;

the proximity determination module further executable by the processor to estimate a proximate location of the sound source with respect to the vocal microphone;

an effect determination module executable by the processor to determine an effect for application to the audio signal based on the estimated proximate location of the sound source with respect to the vocal microphone; and

an effect application module executable by the processor to apply the determined effect to the audio signal;

where the vocal microphone is a plurality of vocal microphones, and the audio signal is a respective plurality of audio signals, and where the proximity determination module is executable by the processor to estimate the proximate location of the sound source relative to at least two vocal microphones based on respective audio signals from the at least two vocal microphones, and

a mic signals combination module executable by the processor to combine the respective audio signals from the at least two vocal microphones in accordance with the estimate of the proximate location to form an activation-based audio signal,

where the proximity determination module is further executable by the processor to employ predictive analysis to avoid cross fading between the respective audio signals when at least an estimated activation target is determined as being positioned at a location that is equal between the at least two vocal microphones.

7. The vocal effect processing system of claim 6, where the mic signals combination module is further executable by the processor to combine the respective audio signals by selection of one of the respective audio signals having a largest short term energy estimate as being a predominant portion of the activation-based audio signal.

8. The vocal effect processing system of claim 6, where the mic signals combination module is further executable by the processor to cross fade from a first one of the respective audio signals to a second one of the respective audio signals as a level of short term energy of the respective audio signals varies.

9. The vocal effect processing system of claim 6, where the mic signals combination module is further executable by the processor to adjust a delay of the respective audio signals prior to combination of the respective audio signals.

10. The vocal effect processing system of claim 6, where the proximity determination module is further executable by the processor to estimate the proximate location of the sound source based on comparison of energy estimates of the respective audio signals from the at least two vocal microphones.

11. The vocal effect processing system of claim 6, where the proximity determination module is further executable by the processor to estimate the proximate location of the sound source based on correlation of the respective audio signals from the at least two vocal microphones.

12. The vocal effect processing system of claim 6, where the proximity determination module is further executable by the processor to estimate the proximate location of the sound source based on a determination of delay between the respective audio signals from the at least two vocal microphones.

13. The vocal effect processing system of claim 6, where the effect application module is executable by the processor to at least one of attenuate and reduce an amount of the effect.

14. The vocal effect processing system of claim 6, further comprising a calibration module, the calibration module executable by the processor to detect absence of vocal signals in the respective audio signals and to compute a ratio of energies between at least two vocal microphones included among the vocal microphones.

15. The vocal effect processing system of claim 6 wherein the effect modification module is executable by the processor to employ predictive analysis via hysteresis to avoid cross fading between the respective audio signals when at least an estimated activation target is determined as being positioned at a location that is equal between the at least two vocal microphones.

16. A non-transitory computer readable memory storage device having instructions stored thereon that are executable by a processor to provide vocal effect processing, the computer readable storage device comprising:

instructions executable by the processor to receive respective audio signals from each of a plurality of vocal microphones, the respective audio signals representative of audible sound detected by each of the vocal microphones;

instructions executable by the processor to estimate an intent of a user to activate one or more of the vocal microphones to receive vocal audio generated by the user;

instructions executable by the processor to identify at least one of the vocal microphones as an activation target based on the estimate of the intent of the user to activate the one or more of the vocal microphones;

instructions executable by the processor to apply a vocal doubling effect to a respective first audio signal of a first microphone of the at least one of the vocal microphones when the first microphone is identified as the activation target; and

instructions executable by the processor to apply a vocal harmony effect to a second audio signal of a second microphone of the at least one of the vocal microphones when the second microphone is identified as the activation target.

17. The computer readable storage device of claim 16, further comprising instructions by the processor to receive an input signal from a proximity sensor that is indicative of a proximate location of the user with respect to the vocal microphones, the estimate of the intent of the user to activate one or more of the vocal microphones determined based on the input signal.

18. The computer readable storage device of claim 16, further comprising instructions by the processor to estimate a proximate location of the user with respect to the vocal microphones based on the respective audio signals, the estimate of the intent of the user to activate one or more of the vocal microphones determined based on the estimated proximate location.

19. The computer readable storage device of claim 18, where the instructions executable by the processor to estimate a proximate location of the user comprises instructions executable to correlate the respective audio signals.

20. The computer readable storage device of claim 16, further comprising instructions executable by the processor to combine the respective audio signals as a function of the estimate of the intent of the user to generate an activation-based audio signal.

21. The computer readable storage device of claim 20, further comprising instructions executable by the processor to combine the respective audio signals as a function of estimate of the intent of the user to generate an activation-based audio signal.

22. The computer readable storage device of claim 16, further comprising instructions executable by the processor to adjust for an estimated relative delay of the vocal microphone audio signals prior to combination.