Yamaha Corporation

Toru Hirai

Masao Noro

Mikio Tohyama

Yoshikazu Honji

Koji Niimi

Hiraku Okumura

Hiroshi Iriyama

Fukushi Kawakami

Yasushi Shimizu

Michiko Kazama

Yoshiro Miyake

Masahiro Ikeda

Aya Togura

Stereo sound signals are reproduced directly from loudspeakers (SP(L), SP(R)). By using a sum signal and a difference signal of the stereo sound signals as a reference signal, and according to a cross spectrum calculation of the reference signal with a microphone-collected sound signal, calculation is performed to obtain transfer functions of four sound transfer systems between the loudspeakers (SP(L), SP(R)) and microphones (MC(L), MC(R)). The transfer functions obtained are subjected to inverse Fourier transform to obtain impulse responses, which are set in filter means (-to-) to create echo cancel signals and perform echo canceling. This solves the problem of an indefinite coefficient in the echo cancel technique of a multi-channel sound signal.

Multi-channel echo cancel method, multi-channel sound transfer method, stereo echo canceller, stereo sound transfer apparatus and transfer function calculation apparatus

A method is provided for recurrently estimating a spectrum of noise at each signal observation interval from a sound signal which contains the noise and which is observed at each signal observation interval. In the method, there are acquired an envelope of a previous spectrum of the noise which has been previously estimated from the sound signal observed at a previous signal observation interval, and an envelope of a current spectrum of the sound signal which is observed at a current signal observation interval subsequent to the previous signal observation interval. Then, a value of correlation is computed between the envelop of the previous spectrum of the noise and the envelope of the current spectrum of the sound signal. A current spectrum of the noise contained in the sound signal observed at the current signal observation interval is estimated in accordance with the computed value of the correlation and based on the previous spectrum of the noise and the current spectrum of the sound signal.

Current noise spectrum estimation method and apparatus with correlation between previous noise and current noise signal

Sound picked up by a microphone of a first sound field is reproduced by a speaker of a second sound field, and a sound picked up by a microphone of the second sound field is reproduced by the speaker of the first sound field. Sound pressure detection section detects a sound pressure of a sound present in the second (or first) sound field picked up by the microphone of the second (or first) sound field, other than a sound reproduced by the speaker of the first (or second) sound field. Other sound pressure detection section detects a sound pressure with which the sound picked up by the microphone of the second (or first) sound field and reproduced by the speaker of the first (or second) sound field is picked up by the microphone of the first (or second) sound field. Sound-pressure-difference detection section adjusts a gain of an automatic gain adjustment section in such a manner that the two detected sound pressures assume a predetermined relationship. Thus, any sound picked up in one of the first and second sound fields can be reproduced in the other sound field with an enhanced sense of unity and connection between the two sound fields.

Picked-up-sound recording method and apparatus

Two signals, which are mutually correlated, are subjected to a principal component analysis and converted into two signals being put in an orthogonal relation, thereby generating two signals being non-correlated. Those two signals are reproduced by speakers, and the voice generated from the speakers are collected by microphones. The cross spectra of a signal as the result of subtracting an echo canceling signal from a voice collected by each microphone, and a voice before it is generated from the speaker, are obtained. Those cross spectra are ensemble-averaged for a predetermined period of time, and inverse Fourier transformed, thereby producing impulse response estimation errors of each filter. Impulse responses of those filters are updated so as to cancel those impulse response estimation errors.

Impulse response setting method for the 2-channel echo canceling filter, a two-channel echo canceller, and a two-way 2-channel voice transmission device

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Shizuoka, Japan

Toru Hirai