Beamforming apparatus and method based on long-term properties of sources of undesired noise affecting voice quality
US9215328B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 30, 2011 |
| Grant date | Dec 15, 2015 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 3, 2034 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04R3/005
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A beamforming technique for a microphone array is described to attenuate a source of undesired noise that is deemed the most limiting to audio quality in an acoustic environment. Possible sources of undesired noise include echo, background noise (stationary) and other interference signals (non-stationary). The beamforming technique is updated based on long-term evaluations. Once an evaluation occurs and a decision is made, the beamformer adapts with a maximum responsiveness and without intentional delay, and therefore not affecting the beamformer's tracking ability. When fixed beamforming is utilized, one of several fixed beamformers having different attenuation targets are selected to implement noise attenuation. When adaptive beamforming is utilized, the beamformer adapts whenever the selected target is deemed dominant.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.