Systems and methods for hybrid adaptive noise cancellation

• US 9,478,210 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2013
• Issued: 10/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cirrus Logic Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Cirrus Logic Incorporated
• Inventors: Hellman, Ryan A.
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, THANG V
• Application Number:
  US13/924,935
• Publication Number:
  US 20140314246A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,219 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/16 Methods or devices for protecting against, or for damping, noise or other acoustic waves in general G10K11/36 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17817 between the output signals and the error signals, i.e. secondary path
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/1785 Methods, e.g. algorithms; Devices G10K11/1781, G10K11/1783 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17854 the filter being an adaptive filter
• 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 2210/1081 Earphones, e.g. for telephones, ear protectors or headsets
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/3017 Copy, i.e. whereby an estimated transfer function in one functional block is copied to another block
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/3022 Error paths
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/3026 Feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 2210/3027 Feedforward

Abstract

In accordance with systems and methods of this disclosure, a method may include generating a feedforward anti-noise signal component from a result of measuring with the reference microphone countering the effects of ambient audio sounds at an acoustic output of a transducer by filtering an output of the reference microphone, adaptively generating a feedback anti-noise signal component from a result of measuring with an error microphone for countering the effects of ambient audio sounds at the acoustic output of the transducer by adapting a response of a feedback adaptive filter that filters a synthesized reference feedback to minimize the ambient audio sounds in the error microphone signal, wherein the synthesized reference feedback is based on a difference between the error microphone signal and the feedback anti-noise signal component.

Claims

1. A personal audio device comprising:

a personal audio device housing;

a transducer coupled to the housing for reproducing an audio signal including both source audio for playback to a listener and an anti-noise signal for countering the effects of ambient audio sounds in an acoustic output of the transducer;

a reference microphone coupled to the housing for providing a reference microphone signal indicative of the ambient audio sounds;

an error microphone coupled to the housing in proximity to the transducer for providing an error microphone signal indicative of the acoustic output of the transducer and the ambient audio sounds at the transducer; and

a processing circuit that implements;

a feedforward filter having a response that generates a feedforward anti-noise signal component from the reference microphone signal;

a feedback adaptive filter having a response that generates a feedback anti-noise signal component from a synthesized reference feedback, the synthesized reference feedback based on a difference between the error microphone signal and the feedback anti-noise signal component, and wherein the anti-noise signal comprises the feedforward anti-noise signal component and the feedback anti-noise signal component; and

a feedback coefficient control block that shapes the response of the feedback adaptive filter in conformity with a correlation between the error microphone signal and the synthesized reference feedback by adapting the response of the feedback adaptive filter to minimize the ambient audio sounds in the error microphone signal.

2. The personal audio device of claim 1, wherein the feedforward filter is an adaptive filter and the processing circuit further implements a feedforward coefficient control block that shapes the response of the feedforward filter in conformity with the error microphone signal and the reference microphone signal by adapting the response of the feedforward filter to minimize the ambient audio sounds in the error microphone signal.

3. The personal audio device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit further implements a secondary path estimate filter configured to model an electro-acoustic path of the source audio signal and have a response that generates the secondary path estimate from the source audio signal.

4. The personal audio device of claim 3, wherein the synthesized reference feedback is based on a difference between the error microphone signal and a signal generated by applying the response of the secondary path estimate filter to the feedback anti-noise signal component.

5. The personal audio device of claim 3, wherein the secondary path estimate filter is adaptive and the processing circuit further implements a secondary path estimate coefficient control block that shapes the response of the secondary path estimate filter in conformity with the source audio signal and a playback corrected error by adapting the response of the secondary path estimate filter to minimize the playback corrected error;

wherein the playback corrected error is based on a difference between the error microphone signal and the secondary path estimate.

6. A method for canceling ambient audio sounds in the proximity of a transducer of a personal audio device, the method comprising:

receiving a reference microphone signal indicative of ambient audio sounds;

receiving an error microphone signal indicative of the output of the transducer and the ambient audio sounds at the transducer;

generating a feedforward anti-noise signal component from the reference microphone signal countering the effects of ambient audio sounds at an acoustic output of the transducer by filtering an output of the reference microphone;

adaptively generating a feedback anti-noise signal component for countering the effects of ambient audio sounds at the acoustic output of the transducer by adapting, in conformity with a correlation between the error microphone signal and a synthesized reference feedback, a response of a feedback adaptive filter that filters the synthesized reference feedback to minimize the ambient audio sounds in the error microphone signal, wherein the synthesized reference feedback is based on a difference between the error microphone signal and the feedback anti-noise signal component; and

combining the anti-noise signal with a source audio signal to generate an audio signal provided to the transducer.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising generating the feedforward anti-noise signal component from a result of the measuring with the reference microphone countering the effects of ambient audio sounds at an acoustic output of the transducer by adapting a response of an adaptive filter that filters an output of the reference microphone to minimize the ambient audio sounds in the error microphone signal.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising generating a secondary path estimate from the source audio signal by filtering the source audio signal with a secondary path estimate filter for modeling an electro-acoustic path of the source audio signal through the transducer.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising applying a response of the secondary path estimate filter to the feedback anti-noise signal component wherein the synthesized reference feedback is based on a difference between the error microphone signal and the feedback anti-noise signal component as filtered by the response of the secondary path estimate filter to the feedback anti-noise signal component.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising generating the secondary path estimate by adapting a response of an adaptive filter that filters the synthesized reference feedback signal to minimize the ambient audio sounds in the error microphone signal to minimize a playback corrected error, wherein the playback corrected error is based on a difference between the error microphone signal and the secondary path estimate.

11. An integrated circuit for implementing at least a portion of a personal audio device, comprising:

an output for providing a signal to a transducer including both source audio for playback to a listener and an anti-noise signal for countering the effect of ambient audio sounds in an acoustic output of the transducer;

a reference microphone input for receiving a reference microphone signal indicative of the ambient audio sounds;

an error microphone input for receiving an error microphone signal indicative of the output of the transducer and the ambient audio sounds at the transducer; and

a processing circuit that implements;

a feedforward filter having a response that generates a feedforward anti-noise signal component from the reference microphone signal;

a feedback adaptive filter having a response that generates a feedback anti-noise signal component from a synthesized reference feedback, the synthesized reference feedback based on a difference between the error microphone signal and the feedback anti-noise signal component, and wherein the anti-noise signal comprises the feedforward anti-noise signal component and the feedback anti-noise signal component; and

a feedback coefficient control block that shapes the response of the feedback adaptive filter in conformity with a correlation between the error microphone signal and the synthesized reference feedback by adapting the response of the feedback adaptive filter to minimize the ambient audio sounds in the error microphone signal.

12. The integrated circuit of claim 11, wherein the feedforward filter is an adaptive filter and the processing circuit further implements a feedforward coefficient control block that shapes the response of the feedforward filter in conformity with the error microphone signal and the reference microphone signal by adapting the response of the feedforward filter to minimize the ambient audio sounds in the error microphone signal.

13. The integrated circuit of claim 11, wherein the processing circuit further implements a secondary path estimate filter configured to model an electro-acoustic path of the source audio signal and have a response that generates the secondary path estimate from the source audio signal.

14. The integrated circuit of claim 13, wherein the synthesized reference feedback is based on a difference between the error microphone signal and a signal generated by applying the response of the secondary path estimate filter to the feedback anti-noise signal component.

15. The integrated circuit of claim 13, wherein the secondary path estimate filter is adaptive and the processing circuit further implements a secondary path estimate coefficient control block that shapes the response of the secondary path estimate filter in conformity with the source audio signal and a playback corrected error by adapting the response of the secondary path estimate filter to minimize the playback corrected error;

wherein the playback corrected error is based on a difference between the error microphone signal and the secondary path estimate.