Microphone array processing system for noisy multipath environments
US8000482B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 5, 2005 |
| Grant date | Aug 16, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 16, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04R2201/403
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Apparatus and a corresponding method for processing speech signals in a noisy reverberant environment, such as an automobile. An array of microphones (10) receives speech signals from a relatively fixed source (12) and noise signals from multiple sources (32) reverberated over multiple paths. One of the microphones is designated a reference microphone and the processing system includes adaptive frequency impulse response (FIR) filters (24) enabled by speech detection circuitry (21) and coupled to the other microphones to align their output signals with the reference microphone output signal. The filtered signals are then combined in a summation circuit (18). Signal components derived from the speech signal combine coherently in the summation circuit, while noise signal components combine incoherently, resulting in composite output signal with an improved signal-to-noise ratio. The composite output signal is further processed in a speech conditioning circuit (20) to reduce the effects of reverberation.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.