U.S. patent application number 15/667988 was filed with the patent office on 2019-02-07 for efficient reutilization of acoustic echo canceler channels.
The applicant listed for this patent is BOSE CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Paraskevas Argyropoulos, Elie Bou Daher, Cristian M. Hera, Vigneish Kathavarayan, Jeffery R. Vautin.
Application Number | 20190045064 15/667988 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 63407516 |
Filed Date | 2019-02-07 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190045064 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hera; Cristian M. ; et
al. |
February 7, 2019 |
EFFICIENT REUTILIZATION OF ACOUSTIC ECHO CANCELER CHANNELS
Abstract
Audio systems and methods are provided to reduce echo content in
an audio signal. The systems and methods receive an audio signal
and sound stage rendering parameter(s), and select a set of filter
coefficients to filter the audio signal to provide an estimated
echo signal. The estimated echo signal is subtracted from a
microphone signal to provide an output signal with reduced echo
content. The set of filter coefficients are selected based upon the
sound stage rendering parameter(s) from among a plurality of stored
sets of filter coefficients.
Inventors: |
Hera; Cristian M.;
(Lancaster, MA) ; Kathavarayan; Vigneish;
(Marlborough, MA) ; Vautin; Jeffery R.;
(Worcester, MA) ; Bou Daher; Elie; (Marlborough,
MA) ; Argyropoulos; Paraskevas; (Everett,
MA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
BOSE CORPORATION |
Framingham |
MA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
63407516 |
Appl. No.: |
15/667988 |
Filed: |
August 3, 2017 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04B 1/3822 20130101;
H04B 3/23 20130101; H04M 9/082 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04M 9/08 20060101
H04M009/08; H04B 3/23 20060101 H04B003/23; H04B 1/3822 20060101
H04B001/3822 |
Claims
1. A method of reducing echo content of an audio signal,
comprising: receiving an audio program content signal; receiving a
sound stage rendering parameter; selecting a set of echo filter
coefficients, from among a plurality of stored sets of echo filter
coefficients, based upon the sound stage rendering parameter;
filtering the audio program content signal, using the selected set
of filter coefficients, to generate an estimated echo signal;
receiving a microphone signal, configured to include a signal
component representative of an echo of the audio program content
signal; and subtracting the estimated echo signal from the
microphone signal to generate an output audio signal.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising loading the selected
set of echo filter coefficients to an audio filter and activating
the audio filter to perform the filtering.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising rendering the audio
program content signal into an acoustic signal, based upon the
selected sound stage rendering parameter.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising loading the selected
set of echo filter coefficients to an adaptive filter, adapting the
adaptive filter coefficients, and copying the adaptive filter
coefficients to an active audio filter that performs the
filtering.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising loading the selected
set of echo filter coefficients to an adaptive filter, the adaptive
filter performing the filtering.
6. The method of claim 5 further comprising detecting double-talk
and disabling an adaptive component of the adaptive filter while
double-talk is detected.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing adapted filter
coefficients and associating the stored filter coefficients with
the sound stage rendering parameter.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving a second
sound stage rendering parameter, selecting a second set of echo
filter coefficients based upon the second sound stage rendering
parameter, and filtering the audio program content signal using the
second selected set of echo filter coefficients to generate the
estimated echo signal.
9. An audio system comprising: an input to receive an audio content
signal; a loudspeaker output configured to provide a processed
version of the audio content signal to a loudspeaker for rendering
an acoustic signal in accord with a selected sound stage
configuration; a microphone input to receive a microphone signal
having an echo component of the acoustic signal, from one or more
microphones; an audio filter configured to filter the audio content
signal and to provide an estimated echo signal according to a set
of filter coefficients, the set of filter coefficients selected
from among a plurality of sets of filter coefficients based upon
the selected sound stage configuration; and a memory configured to
store the plurality of sets of filter coefficients.
10. The audio system of claim 1 further comprising a combiner
configured to subtract the filtered audio content signal from the
microphone signal to provide an output signal.
11. The audio system of claim 1 further comprising a processor
configured to select the selected set of filter coefficients and to
copy the selected set of filter coefficients from the memory to the
audio filter.
12. The audio system of claim 1 further comprising an adaptive
filter to filter the audio content signal according to the set of
filter coefficients and to provide an updated set of filter
coefficients.
13. The audio system of claim 1 further comprising a processing
block configured to determine whether an updated set of filter
coefficients performs better than the selected set of filter
coefficients, and to copy the updated set of filter coefficients to
at least one of the audio filter and the memory.
14. The audio system of claim 1 further comprising a processing
block configured to copy a set of filter coefficients from the
audio filter to the memory and to associate the copied filter
coefficients with the sound stage configuration.
15. The audio system of claim 1 further comprising a processing
block configured to select a second set of filter coefficients and
to copy the second selected set of filter coefficients from the
memory to the audio filter in response to a second selected sound
stage configuration.
16. A multi-channel audio system comprising: a sound stage
processor having one or more outputs configured to provide
processed signals; a plurality of content channels, each of the
plurality of content channels configured to convey a selected audio
content signal from a source to the sound stage processor; and a
plurality of echo canceling filters, each of the echo canceling
filters associated with one of the plurality of content channels,
and each of the echo canceling filters configured to filter the
associated selected audio content signal into an estimated echo
signal using a set of filter coefficients selected from among a
plurality of sets of filter coefficients, the selected set of
filter coefficients based upon a selected sound stage configuration
associated with the selected audio content signal.
17. The multi-channel audio system of claim 16 further comprising
one or more loudspeakers coupled to the one or more outputs to
receive the processed signals and to produce acoustic signals
responsive to the processed signals.
18. The multi-channel audio system of claim 16 further comprising a
microphone input to receive a microphone signal and a signal
combiner configured to subtract the plurality of estimated echo
signals from the microphone signal.
19. The multi-channel audio system of claim 16 further comprising
one or more microphones to receive acoustic signals and configured
to provide at least one microphone signal from which the plurality
of estimated echo signals is subtracted to produce an output
signal.
20. The multi-channel audio system of claim 16 further comprising a
memory to store the plurality of sets of filter coefficients.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser.
No. ______ titled MULTI-CHANNEL RESIDUAL ECHO SUPPRESSION filed on
Aug. 3, 2017, and to U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ titled
MITIGATING IMPACT OF DOUBLE TALK FOR RESIDUAL ECHO SUPPRESSORS
filed on Aug. 3, 2017, each of which is incorporated herein by
reference in its entirety for all purposes.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] Aspects and examples of the present disclosure are directed
generally to voice and audio systems and methods, and in some
examples, more specifically to systems and methods for removing
acoustic echo signals from microphone signals.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Audio systems, especially automobile audio systems, are used
to produce acoustic signals for various purposes such as
entertainment (e.g., music, talk radio, sports), navigation (e.g.,
route guidance), and communication (e.g., telephone calls). Some
such audio systems include one or more microphones intended to pick
up a user's voice for certain applications, such as the near end of
a telephone call or for commands to a virtual personal assistant.
The acoustic signals produced by the audio system also contribute
to the microphone signals, and may undesirably interfere with
processing the user's voice signal.
SUMMARY
[0004] Aspects and examples are directed to audio systems and
methods that make efficient use of echo cancelers, to reduce echo
content in an audio signal, by storing filter coefficients
associated with particular sound stage configurations. The audio
systems and methods select from among the stored filter
coefficients and load them into one or more echo cancelation
filters when the particular (or similar) sound stage configuration
is selected for operation.
[0005] According to one aspect, a method of reducing echo content
of an audio signal is provided and includes receiving an audio
program content signal, receiving a sound stage rendering
parameter, selecting a set of filter coefficients from among a
plurality of stored sets of filter coefficients based upon the
sound stage rendering parameter, filtering the audio program
content signal using the selected set of filter coefficients to
generate a filtered signal, receiving a microphone signal
configured to include a signal component representative of an echo
of the audio program content signal, and subtracting the filtered
signal from the microphone signal to generate an output audio
signal.
[0006] Some examples include loading the selected set of filter
coefficients to an audio filter and activating the audio filter to
perform the filtering. Some examples include loading the selected
set of filter coefficients to an adaptive filter, adapting the
adaptive filter coefficients, and copying the adaptive filter
coefficients to an active audio filter that performs the
filtering.
[0007] Some examples include loading the selected set of filter
coefficients to an adaptive filter that performs the filtering.
Certain examples include detecting double-talk and disabling an
adaptive component of the adaptive filter while double-talk is
detected.
[0008] Some examples include rendering the audio program content
signal into an acoustic signal, based upon the selected sound stage
rendering parameter.
[0009] Certain examples include storing adapted filter coefficients
and associating the stored filter coefficients with the sound stage
rendering parameter.
[0010] Some examples include receiving a second sound stage
rendering parameter, selecting a second set of filter coefficients
based upon the second sound stage rendering parameter, and
filtering the audio program content signal using the second
selected set of filter coefficients to generate the filtered
signal.
[0011] According to another aspect, an audio system is provided
that includes an input to receive an audio content signal, a
loudspeaker output configured to provide a processed version of the
audio content signal to a loudspeaker for rendering an acoustic
signal in accord with a selected sound stage configuration, a
microphone input to receive a microphone signal having an echo
component of the acoustic signal, from one or more microphones, an
audio filter configured to filter the audio content signal
according to a set of filter coefficients, the set of filter
coefficients selected from among a plurality of sets of filter
coefficients based upon the selected sound stage configuration, and
a memory configured to store the plurality of sets of filter
coefficients.
[0012] Some examples include a combiner configured to subtract the
filtered audio content signal from the microphone signal to provide
an output signal.
[0013] Some examples include a processor configured to select the
selected set of filter coefficients and to copy the selected set of
filter coefficients from the memory to the audio filter.
[0014] Some examples include an adaptive filter to filter the audio
content signal according to the set of filter coefficients and to
provide an updated set of filter coefficients.
[0015] Certain examples include a processing block configured to
determine whether an updated set of filter coefficients performs
better than the selected set of filter coefficients, and to copy
the updated set of filter coefficients to at least one of the audio
filter and the memory.
[0016] Some examples include a processing block configured to copy
a set of filter coefficients from the audio filter to the memory
and to associate the copied filter coefficients with the sound
stage configuration.
[0017] Some examples include a processing block configured to
select a second set of filter coefficients and to copy the second
selected set of filter coefficients from the memory to the audio
filter in response to a second selected sound stage
configuration.
[0018] According to yet another aspect, a multi-channel audio
system is provided that includes a sound stage processor having one
or more outputs configured to provide processed signals, a
plurality of content channels, each of the plurality of content
channels configured to convey a selected audio content signal from
a source to the sound stage processor, and a plurality of echo
canceling filters, each of the echo canceling filters associated
with one of the plurality of content channels, and each of the echo
canceling filters configured to filter the associated selected
audio content signal into an estimated echo signal using a set of
filter coefficients selected from among a plurality of sets of
filter coefficients, the selected set of filter coefficients based
upon a selected sound stage configuration associated with the
selected audio content signal.
[0019] Certain examples include one or more loudspeakers coupled to
the one or more outputs to receive the processed signals and to
produce acoustic signals responsive to the processed signals.
[0020] Certain examples include a microphone input to receive a
microphone signal and a signal combiner configured to subtract the
plurality of estimated echo signals from the microphone signal.
[0021] Certain examples include one or more microphones to receive
acoustic signals and configured to provide at least one microphone
signal from which the plurality of estimated echo signals is
subtracted to produce an output signal.
[0022] Some examples include a memory to store the plurality of
sets of filter coefficients.
[0023] Still other aspects, examples, and advantages are discussed
in detail below. Examples disclosed herein may be combined with
other examples in any manner consistent with at least one of the
principles disclosed herein, and references to "an example," "some
examples," "an alternate example," "various examples," "one
example" or the like are not necessarily mutually exclusive and are
intended to indicate that a particular feature, structure, or
characteristic described may be included in at least one example.
The appearances of such terms herein are not necessarily all
referring to the same example.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] Various aspects of at least one example are discussed below
with reference to the accompanying figures, which are not intended
to be drawn to scale. The figures are included to provide
illustration and a further understanding of the various aspects and
examples, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this
specification, but are not intended as a definition of the limits
of the invention. In the figures, identical or nearly identical
components illustrated in various figures may be represented by a
like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be
labeled in every figure. In the figures:
[0025] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example audio system
including echo cancelation;
[0026] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example audio system
including multi-channel echo cancelation; and
[0027] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example method of controlling
a multi-channel audio system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0028] Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to audio
systems and methods that provide echo cancelation in a
multi-channel environment. Aspects and examples disclosed herein
achieve multi-channel echo cancelation using fewer acoustic echo
cancelers than conventional systems and methods.
[0029] Audio systems, especially automotive audio systems, may
produce acoustic signals in an environment, e.g., a vehicle
compartment, for the benefit of people in the environment. The
acoustic signals may be for entertainment, information,
communication, and navigation, for example. Such audio systems may
also accept acoustic input from the occupants, e.g., one or more
people may verbally speak and their voices may be picked up by the
audio system, e.g., via one or more microphones, for various
purposes such as telephone conversations, verbal commands to a
navigation system or a virtual personal assistant, and the like.
When the audio system renders an acoustic signal, e.g., via a
loudspeaker, the microphone(s) may also pick up the rendered
acoustic signal in addition to the user's voice. For example, the
user may be having a phone conversation and listening to the radio
at the same time, and the microphone will pick up both the user's
voice and the radio program. A portion of the microphone signal may
therefore be due to the audio system's own acoustic production, and
that portion of the microphone signal is deemed an echo signal. In
such cases, an acoustic echo canceler may be used to reduce or
remove the echo signal portion from the microphone signal. When
multiple loudspeakers and/or multiple audio signal sources are
used, there may be multiple acoustic echo cancelers involved.
[0030] The audio system may provide various signal processing, such
as equalization and sound stage programming, to prepare an audio
signal to be converted into an acoustic signal by, e.g., a
loudspeaker, and acoustic echo cancelers may use various adaptive
algorithms to estimate the echo created by the audio system
processing, the loudspeaker, and the environment in which the
system operates. Multiple loudspeakers, multiple audio signal
sources, and multiple signal processing options (e.g.,
equalization, sound stage) conventionally require a number of
acoustic echo cancelers, each of which works to estimate the echo
of a particular channel combination of audio source and sound-stage
options. Aspects and examples disclosed herein reduce the number of
acoustic echo cancelers required, at least in part by resetting
and/or re-loading individual echo cancelers with previously
determined and stored filter coefficients based upon a selected
combination of audio source and sound-stage options.
[0031] Examples of the methods and apparatuses discussed herein are
not limited in application to the details of construction and the
arrangement of components set forth in the following description or
illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The methods and
apparatuses are capable of implementation in other examples and of
being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Examples
of specific implementations are provided herein for illustrative
purposes only and are not intended to be limiting. In particular,
functions, components, elements, and features discussed in
connection with any one or more examples are not intended to be
excluded from a similar role in any other examples.
[0032] Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the
purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. Any
references to examples, components, elements, acts, or functions of
the systems and methods herein referred to in the singular may also
embrace embodiments including a plurality, and any references in
plural to any example, component, element, act, or function herein
may also embrace examples including only a singularity.
Accordingly, references in the singular or plural form are not
intended to limit the presently disclosed systems or methods, their
components, acts, or elements. The use herein of "including,"
"comprising," "having," "containing," "involving," and variations
thereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and
equivalents thereof as well as additional items. References to "or"
may be construed as inclusive so that any terms described using
"or" may indicate any of a single, more than one, and all of the
described terms. Any references to front and back, left and right,
top and bottom, upper and lower, and vertical and horizontal are
intended for convenience of description, not to limit the present
systems and methods or their components to any one positional or
spatial orientation.
[0033] FIG. 1 illustrates an example audio system 100 that includes
an echo canceler 110, one or more acoustic drivers 120, and one or
more microphones 130. The audio system 100 receives a program
content signal 102, p(t), that is converted into an acoustic
program signal 122 by the one or more acoustic drivers 120. The
acoustic drivers 120 may have further processing component(s) 140
associated with them, such as may provide array processing,
amplification, equalization, mixing, etc. Additionally, the program
content signal 102 may include multiple tracks, such as a stereo
left and right pair, or multiple program content signals to be
mixed or processed in various ways. The program content signal 102
may be an analog or digital signal and may be provided as a
compressed and/or packetized stream, and additional information may
be received as part of such a stream, such as instructions,
commands, or parameters from another system for control and/or
configuration of the processing component(s) 140, the echo canceler
110, or other components.
[0034] The block diagrams illustrated in the figures, such as the
example audio system 100 of FIG. 1, are schematic representations
and not necessarily illustrative of individual hardware elements.
For instance, in some examples, each of the echo canceler(s) 110,
the processing component(s) 140, and other components and/or any
portions or combinations of these, may be implemented in one set of
circuitry, such as a digital signal processor, a controller, or
other logic circuitry, and may include instructions for the
circuitry to perform the functions described herein.
[0035] A microphone, such as the microphone 130, may receive each
of an acoustic echo signal 124, an acoustic voice signal 126 from a
user 128, and other acoustic signals such as background noise
and/or road noise. The microphone 130 converts acoustic signals
into, e.g., electrical signals, and provides them to the echo
canceler 110. Specifically, when a user 128 is speaking, the
microphone 130 provides a voice signal 136, v(t), and an echo
signal 134, e(t), as part of a combined signal to the echo canceler
110. The echo canceler 110 functions to attempt to remove the echo
signal 134 from the combined signal to provide an estimated voice
signal 116, {circumflex over (v)}(t). The echo canceler 110 works
to remove the echo signal 134 by processing the program content
signal 102 through a filter 112 to produce an estimated echo signal
114, (t), which is subtracted from the signal provided by the
microphone 130.
[0036] For example, the acoustic program signal 122 causes the echo
signal 134. If the filter 112 performs well at providing an
estimated echo signal 114, it will perform well at removing the
echo signal 134 from the signal provided by the microphone 130. As
a result, the estimated voice signal 116, {circumflex over (v)}(t),
will be a good representation of the actual voice signal 136,
v(t).
[0037] The echo canceler 110 may include an adaptive algorithm to
update the filter 112, at intervals, to improve the estimated echo
signal 114. Over time, the adaptive algorithm causes the filter 112
to converge on satisfactory parameters that produce a sufficiently
accurate estimated echo signal 114. Generally, the adaptive
algorithm updates the filter during times when the user 128 is not
speaking, but in some examples the adaptive algorithm may make
updates at any time. When the user 128 speaks, such is deemed
"double talk," and the microphone 130 picks up both the acoustic
echo signal 124 and the acoustic voice signal 126. Regarding the
terminology, the user 128 is "talking" at the same time as one or
more acoustic drivers 120 are producing acoustic program content,
or "talking," hence, "double talk."
[0038] The filter 112 may apply a set of filter coefficients to the
program content signal 102 to produce the estimated echo signal
114, (t). The adaptive algorithm may use any of various techniques
to determine the filter coefficients and to update, or change, the
filter coefficients to improve performance of the filter 112. In
some examples, the adaptive algorithm may operate on a background
filter, separate from the filter 112, to seek out a set of filter
coefficients that performs better than an active set of
coefficients being used in the filter 112. When a better set of
coefficients is identified, they may be copied to the filter 112 in
active operation.
[0039] Such adaptive algorithms, whether operating on an active
filter or a background filter, may include, for example, a least
mean squares (LMS) algorithm, a normalized least mean squares
(NLMS) algorithm, a recursive least square (RLS) algorithm, or any
combination or variation of these or other algorithms. The filter
112, as adapted by the adaptive algorithm, converges to apply an
estimated transfer function 118, h(t), which is representative of
the overall response of the processing 140, the acoustic driver(s)
120, the acoustic environment, and the microphone(s) 130, to the
program content signal 102. The transfer function is a
representation of how the program content signal 102 is transformed
from its received form into the echo signal 134.
[0040] FIG. 2 illustrates an example multi-channel audio system 200
that includes source selection switching 210 to allow selection
from among multiple sources 212 to provide one or more program
content signals for rendering as acoustic signals. The audio system
200 also includes a sound stage processor 220 to control a number
of acoustic transducers 222, at least one microphone input and/or
at least one microphone 230 to pick up acoustic signals in the
environment, including user voices and audio system echoes, an echo
cancelation subsystem 240 for estimating the echo signal content of
the audio signal provided by the microphone 230, and a controller
250 to manage one or more components of the source selection
switching 210, the sound stage processor 220, and/or the echo
cancelation subsystem 240.
[0041] In some examples, the echo cancelation subsystem 240 may
operate on signals or signal channels after processing by the sound
stage processor 220, rather than prior to sound stage processing as
shown in the figures. For example, the echo cancelation subsystem
240 may operate on signals provided directly to the acoustic
transducers 222, before or after amplification. In other examples,
there may be various signal processing before, after, or both
before and after the provision of such signals to the echo
cancelation subsystem 240.
[0042] In some examples, the microphone 230 may be an array of
microphones, having array processing to steer beams toward sources
of desired acoustic signals and/or away from noise sources, and may
additionally or alternately steer nulls toward noise sources. In
such examples, the controller 250 may further control such array
processing components, or such array processing components may be
alternately controlled and/or may be pre-configured for various
operating characteristics. In other examples, the microphone 230
may be a microphone input or other signal input suitable to receive
an audio signal from a microphone, whether pre-processed, filtered,
combined, etc.
[0043] Any of the sources 212 may include hardware for providing an
audio signal, such as a radio tuner, navigation system, telephone
system, and the like, or may include inputs to accept audio signals
from an external device. For example, any of the sources 212 may
include one or more physical electrical connections or wireless
connections, or any combination of wired and wireless connections,
and may include network interfaces to receive (and optionally to
provide) various audio signals. Examples include audio jacks, such
as 3.5 mm audio jacks, for example, Bluetooth.RTM. wireless
interfaces and hardware, or the like, network interface jacks
and/or connectors, such as an RJ-45 connector, for example, and
wireless local area network (WLAN) interfaces and hardware, or any
combination of these or other interfaces suitable for conveying
audio signal content. Various of these or other interfaces may also
include inputs to receive commands and control parameters, such as
filter settings, equalization, volume control, or other sound stage
parameters, etc.
[0044] The echo cancelation subsystem includes a number of echo
cancelation filters 242, each of which is associated with a
particular content channel 214. The content channels 214 provide
content signals to the sound stage processor 220, from among the
sources 212 (as selected by the source selection switching under
the control of the controller 250). The sound stage processor 220
provides various processing, such as equalization and loudspeaker
routing, to drive the acoustic transducers 222 to generate acoustic
sound fields in accordance with the various program content signals
and sound stage parameters.
[0045] The various sources 212 may provide audio content to be
rendered within the environment, such as an interior occupant
compartment of a vehicle, and may include numerous types of audio
sources, such as radios, telephones, navigation systems, etc. Each
of the sources 212 and each sub-channel provided by the sources 212
may have differing requirements for sound stage rendering, such as
equalization settings and routing to various acoustic transducers
222 or groups of acoustics transducers 222.
[0046] Any of the sources 212 may have numerous sub-channels, such
as left and right, front and rear, center, sub, or the like, and
any of the sources 212 may have differing sub-channels based upon a
mode of operation, such as a radio receiver may operate in
different modes to receive audio content in a mono, stereo, or
multi-channel surround format. Similarly, a video entertainment
device may provide audio content in any of mono, stereo, surround,
or other formats. Further, a video entertainment device may be
selected to provide program content to be rendered in the rear of
the vehicle while an audio entertainment device is selected to
provide program content to be rendered in the front of the vehicle.
At the same time, a telephone conversation may be selected to
provide program content to be rendered acoustically near a
passenger, and a navigation device may be selected to provide
program content to be rendered acoustically near a driver. At any
time, a warning system (e.g., lane drift, blind-spot detection,
etc.) may provide content to be rendered at various locations.
[0047] As an example, a navigation system may use multiple sets of
sound stage parameters to render announcements to come from various
positions within the vehicle. For example, differing sound stage
rendering parameters may produce an announcement "turn right" from
the right side of the vehicle, and "turn left" from the left side
of the vehicle, or a "continue ahead" announcement may come from
the front center of the vehicle. In the first instance, the "turn
right" may be routed to one or more acoustic transducers 222 so
that the acoustic presentation sounds like it comes from the right
side of the vehicle, and may include equalization appropriate for
the particular acoustic transducers 222 to which it is routed. The
"turn left" announcement may similarly be routed to one or more
acoustic transducers 222 to sound like it comes from the left side
of the vehicle, with appropriate equalization(s), and the "continue
ahead" announcement may be routed to one or more acoustic
transducers 222 so that a balanced acoustic signal is produced that
sounds like it comes from a center position. Each of the acoustic
transducers 222 may have its own equalization parameters, which may
also vary based upon which of the sources 212 any particular audio
signal originates. Further, each of the acoustic transducers 222
may have a limited frequency range. Additionally, a different
equalization for a specific acoustic transducer 222 may be applied
when that acoustic transducer 222 is grouped with other particular
combinations of acoustic transducers 222, and so on.
[0048] As another example, each of a number of occupants may be
listening to music at different volume levels, e.g., rendered by
various acoustic transducers 222 in such manner to cause each
occupant to hear a different volume level. At any time, one of the
occupants may adjust his/her listening experience, such as by
changing the volume or turning off the music altogether at his/her
position. In some examples, each of the occupants may be able to
listen to different music or audio sources at the same time.
[0049] As another example, while listening to music, an incoming
telephone call may arrive and the driver may answer the telephone
call. The audio system 200 may be configured to render the incoming
audio of the telephone call so that the driver hears it well but
the other occupants don't. Additionally, the sound system 200 may
simultaneously cease or reduce the playback volume of other audio
content at the driver's position. Further, the audio system 200 may
allow the driver to "transfer" the call to a particular passenger,
e.g, make a selection so that the sound stage processor 220 routes
the incoming telephone audio to appropriate acoustic transducers
222, with appropriate equalization and/or playback volume, so that
the selected passenger can hear it but it does not disturb the
other occupants. Alternately, the driver may make a selection to
have the telephone audio play for all the occupants to hear. Any
other audio content currently playing may then be stopped by the
audio system 200, or may have reduced playback volume. In some
examples, the audio system 200 may accommodate multiple phones, for
example via multiple Bluetooth.RTM. connections, and associate each
phone with a particular occupant's position in a passenger
compartment. An incoming telephone call may then be rendered by the
audio system 200 to the particular passenger whose phone was
called.
[0050] In accordance with all the above discussion and examples,
the number of possible sound processing combinations and potential
transitions may easily become substantial, even for an audio system
having relatively few distinct audio sources.
[0051] Each of the above example program content sources 212 and
sub-channels may have unique sound stage rendering 220 requirements
at any given time, and every possible combination of source
sub-channel and sound stage rendering parameters may exhibit a
different transfer function from the source 212 to the microphone
230 where an echo of the source sub-channel may be received.
Advantageously, not every combination will be in use at the same
time, and audio systems and methods in accord with aspects and
examples disclosed herein are capable of operation with a minimal
number of echo canceler channels by adapting, storing, and loading
sets of filter coefficients at appropriate times, and associating
combinations of sources 212, sub-channels, and sound stage
rendering parameters with stored filter coefficients.
[0052] With continued reference to FIG. 2, a particular example is
described wherein a first source 212 may provide stereo (left and
right) audio content to be rendered by the sound stage processor
220 through various of the acoustic transducers 222. In this
example, two content channels 214 are used, a first content channel
214 to convey the left program content signal to the sound stage
processor 220, and a second content channel 214 to convey the right
program content signal to the sound stage processor 220. The sound
stage processor may be programmed, controlled, or otherwise
configured to produce (e.g., render) the left channel from the left
of a vehicle (or other environment in which the audio system 200 is
operated) and to produce the right channel from the right of the
vehicle. A first echo cancelation filter 242a receives the left
program content signal from the first content channel 214 and
produces a first estimated echo signal 244a associated with the
left of the vehicle. A second echo cancelation filter 242b receives
the right program content signal from the second content channel
214 and produces a second estimated echo signal 244b associated
with the right of the vehicle. In this example, no more program
content is being rendered. Accordingly, no additional content
channels 214 or echo cancelation filters 242 are used. The first
and second estimated echo signals 214a, 214b are added together to
produce a combined estimated echo signal. The combined estimated
echo signal is subtracted from the microphone signal 232 to produce
an estimated voice signal 216, similar to that described above with
reference to FIG. 1. Adaptation of the first and second echo
cancelation filters 242a, 242b may be carried out by one or more
adaptation blocks 246, in a manner similar to the adaptive
algorithm(s) described above with reference to FIG. 1. It should be
understood the adaptation block 246 receives the various program
content signals from the content channels 214, though for
simplicity in FIG. 2 such is not explicitly illustrated.
[0053] Expanding upon the above example, while the first source 212
is providing left and right content on two content channels 214,
respectively, a navigation system may be a second source 212 that
may provide content to rendered to the left, to the right, or to
the center, each with differing sound stage rendering parameters,
as previously described. Rather than dedicate three additional
content channels 214 and echo cancelation filters 242 to the second
source 212, the audio system 200 is capable to take advantage of
the fact that the navigation system will only use one of the left,
right, or center sound stage combinations at any given time.
Additionally, the navigation system may be idle for some time
before a navigation announcement needs to be rendered by the sound
stage processor. Accordingly, upon a signal from the navigation
system that it has content to be rendered in accord with a
particular set of sound stage parameters, the audio system 200 may
allocate a single content channel 214 and a single echo cancelation
filter 242 to the navigation system. The echo cancelation filter
242 to be allocated, however, has not been in operation until this
point (in this example) and does not have an appropriate set of
filter coefficients to cancel an echo component from the navigation
system. Accordingly, the echo cancelation subsystem 240 includes
storage 248 that contains an appropriate set of filter coefficients
to cancel an echo component from the navigation system, for a given
sound stage rendering configuration.
[0054] For example, upon the signal from the navigation system that
it has content to be rendered in accord with a particular set of
sound stage parameters, the controller 250 and/or the echo
cancelation subsystem 240 may locate the appropriate set of filter
coefficients to cancel an echo component from the navigation system
for the given sound stage parameters. If the navigation system
indicates that an announcement is to be acoustically rendered from
the left, a previously stored set of filter coefficients is
selected from the storage 248 and copied to the appropriate echo
cancelation filter 242, and used to cancel (or reduce) echo content
in the microphone signal 232 due to the left-rendered navigation
announcement. While the navigation system is providing content to
be left-rendered, the filter adaptation block 246 may operate to
adapt (e.g., adjust) the filter coefficients, in the foreground or
background as described previously. If the adaptation block 246
converges on new filter coefficients, the new filter coefficients
may be copied into the storage 248 and associated with, e.g.,
left-rendered navigation announcements, for future use the next
time the navigation system has an announcement to rendered in a
similar manner.
[0055] In some cases, a user may adjust certain audio system
controls, such as tone, balance, or others, that effect the
transfer function between a source 212 and an echo component of a
microphone signal 232. One advantage of the above example of
operation of the audio system 200 is that filter coefficients
stored in the storage 248 may be updated, e.g., by copying new
filter coefficients determined by the adaptation block 246, either
at intervals or at the end of use of one of the echo cancelation
filters 242, or both. Additionally or alternately, certain user
adjustment, such as tone or others, may be applied at various
locations, such as before provision of the content signal to an
echo cancelation filter 242, which may reduce the need for
adaptation of filter coefficients when the user makes such
adjustments.
[0056] FIG. 3 illustrates an example operational method 300 that
may be performed by an audio system such as the audio system 200 of
FIG. 2 to allow reallocation of echo cancelation filters to various
combinations of content signals and sound stage rendering
parameters, on demand, to thereby reduce the total number of echo
cancelation filters needed in a particular system. The method 300
includes receiving one or more program content signals (block 310)
and rendering the program content signals (block 320) according to
one or more sound stage parameters, for example by the sound stage
processor 220 via one or more acoustic transducers 222. At block
330, echo cancelation filters 242 are operated normally to reduce
echo from a microphone signal and to adapt their filter
coefficients. If a new source sub-channel is requested (block 340),
the method 300 allocates a content channel 214 and an echo
cancelation filter 242 to the new request (block 350), locates
appropriate filter coefficients in storage 248 and copies the
filter coefficients to the echo cancelation filter (block 360), and
continues to render all requested program content material (block
320), including the new source sub-channel. Whenever a source
sub-channel is no longer needed, e.g., terminated (block 370),
filter coefficients may be copied (block 380) from the allocated
echo cancelation filter 242 to the storage 248, the content channel
214 and the echo cancelation filter 242 are de-allocated (block
390), and rendering continues for any remaining program content
channels (block 320).
[0057] A program content signal may have any suitable spectral
range, such as, for example, 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz being an acoustic
range typically accepted as matching that of the human ear. In some
examples, however, removing an echo signal based upon the program
content signal may be limited to a narrower spectrum. In certain
examples, the microphone signal may be filtered to a narrower
bandwidth because it may be intended to pick up human vocal
activity, and may only require a lower frequency bound as low as,
e.g., 60 Hz, and/or an upper frequency bound as high as, e.g.,
8,000 Hz or 10,000 Hz, for example. In certain embodiments, the
microphone signal may be filtered, controlled, or otherwise limited
to a frequency spectrum in the range of 60 Hz to 8,000 Hz, or from
100 Hz to 4,000 Hz, or any other suitable range.
[0058] In some examples, an audio system may include a plurality of
acoustic drivers and/or a plurality of microphones, and may include
various processing, which may include array processing, to process
signals to the acoustic drivers and/or to process signals from the
microphones, or a sub-set of either the acoustic drivers or
microphones, as appropriate for various applications and/or
changing operational requirements.
[0059] It should be understood that many, if not all, of the
functions, methods, and/or components of the systems disclosed
herein according to various aspects and examples may be implemented
or carried out in a digital signal processor (DSP) and/or other
circuitry, analog or digital, suitable for performing signal
processing and other functions in accord with the aspects and
examples disclosed herein. Additionally or alternatively, a
microprocessor, a logic controller, logic circuits, field
programmable gate array(s) (FPGA), application-specific integrated
circuit(s) (ASIC), general computing processor(s),
micro-controller(s), and the like, or any combination of these, may
be suitable, and may include analog or digital circuit components
and/or other components with respect to any particular
implementation. Functions and components disclosed herein may
operate in the digital domain, the analog domain, or a combination
of the two, and certain examples include analog-to-digital
converter(s) (ADC) and/or digital-to-analog converter(s) (DAC)
where appropriate, despite the lack of illustration of ADC's or
DAC's in the various figures. Any suitable hardware and/or
software, including firmware and the like, may be configured to
carry out or implement components of the aspects and examples
disclosed herein, and various implementations of aspects and
examples may include components and/or functionality in addition to
those disclosed. Various implementations may include stored
instructions for a digital signal processor and/or other circuitry
to enable the circuitry, at least in part, to perform the functions
described herein.
[0060] It should be understood that an acoustic transducer, driver,
or loudspeaker, may be any of many types of transducers known in
the art. For example, an acoustic structure coupled to a magnetic
coil positioned in a magnetic field, to cause motion in response to
electrical signals received by the coil, may be a suitable acoustic
transducer. Additionally, a piezoelectric material may respond to
electrical signals by expanding or contracting in one or more
dimensions and may be a suitable acoustic transducer. In various
examples, acoustic transducers may take other forms.
[0061] Having described above several aspects of at least one
example, it is to be appreciated various alterations,
modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled
in the art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are
intended to be part of this disclosure and are intended to be
within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing
description and drawings are by way of example only, and the scope
of the invention should be determined from proper construction of
the appended claims, and their equivalents.
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