Patent · US Expired

Apparatus for creating 3D audio imaging over headphones using binaural synthesis

US6195434A · kind A · utility

12Cited by
2References
42Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 11, 1998
Grant dateFeb 27, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 11, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04S2400/11
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An apparent location of a sound source is controlled in azimuth and range to a listener of the sound using headphones by a range control block that has variable amplitude scalers and a time delay and by an azimuth control block that also has variable amplitude scalers and time delays. An input audio signal is fed in to the range control block and the values of the scalers and the taps on the delay buffers are read out of look-up tables in a controller that is addressed by an azimuth index value corresponding to any location on a circle surrounding the headphone wearer. Several range control blocks and azimuth control blocks can be provided depending on the number of input audio signals to be located. All of the range and azimuth control is provided by the range control blocks and azimuth control blocks so that the resultant signals require only a fixed number of filters regardless of the number of input audio signals to provide the signal processing. Such signal processing is accomplished using front and back early reflection filters, left and right reverberation filters, and front and back azimuth filters having a head related transfer function.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.