# US 10,373,628 B2 · Signal processing system, signal processing method, and computer program product > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,373,628 B2 - Document ID: US10373628B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/433,336 - Filed: 2017-02-15 - Published: 2018-03-01 - Granted: 2019-08-06 - Earliest claimed: 2016-08-31 - Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba - Applicants: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba - Inventors: Toru Taniguchi; Taro Masuda - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10373628B2 ## CPC - G10L 21/028: using properties of sound source - G10L 21/0272: Voice signal separating - H04R 1/406: {microphones} - H04R 3/005: {for combining the signals of two or more microphones (specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407)} - G10L 21/0232: Processing in the frequency domain - G10L: SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING - H04R: LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS (producing sounds with frequency not determined by supply frequency G10K) ## Abstract A signal processing system includes a filter unit, a conversion unit, a decomposition unit, and an estimation unit. The filter unit applies, to a plurality of time series input signals, N filters estimated by independent component analysis of the input signals to output N output signals. The conversion unit converts the output signals into nonnegative signals each taking on a nonnegative value. The decomposition unit decomposes the nonnegative signals into a spatial basis that includes nonnegative three-dimensional elements, that is, K first elements, N second elements, and I third elements, a spectral basis matrix of I rows and L columns that includes L nonnegative spectral basis vectors expressed by I-dimensional column vectors, and a nonnegative L-dimensional activity vector. The estimation unit estimates sound source signals representing signals of the signal sources based on the output signals using the spatial basis, the spectral basis matrix, and the activity vector. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A signal processing system comprising: a filter configured to apply, to a plurality of time series input signals, N filters, N being an integer of 2 or greater, wherein each filter has different spatial characteristics from each other, and wherein the N filters are estimated by an independent component analysis of the input signals to output N output signals; a converter, implemented in computer hardware, configured to convert the N output signals into nonnegative signals each having a nonnegative value; a decomposer, implemented in computer hardware, configured to decompose the nonnegative signals into a spatial basis, a spectral basis matrix, and an activity vector, the spatial basis comprising nonnegative three-dimensional elements comprising K first elements, N second elements, and I third elements, K being an integer of 2 or greater according to a number of signal sources, I being an integer of 2 or greater and denoting a number of frequencies, the spectral basis matrix comprising a matrix of I rows and L columns that comprises L nonnegative spectral basis vectors expressed by I-dimensional column vectors, L being an integer of 2 or greater, the activity vector comprising a nonnegative L-dimensional vector; and an estimating processor, implemented in computer hardware, configured to estimate sound source signals representing signals of the signal sources based at least in part on the N output signals using the spatial basis, the spectral basis matrix, and the activity vector. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The signal processing system according to claim 1, wherein the decomposer comprises: a spatial basis updating processor configured to update the spatial basis with reference to the N output signals, the spectral basis matrix, and the activity vector; a spectral basis updating processor configured to update the spectral basis matrix with reference to the N output signals, the spatial basis, and the activity vector; and an activity updating processor configured to update the activity vector with reference to the N output signals, the spatial basis, and the spectral basis matrix. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The signal processing system according to claim 2, wherein the decomposer updates the spatial basis, the spectral basis matrix, and the activity vector so that a distance between a product of the spatial basis, the spectral basis matrix, and the activity vector and the N output signals is shorter than a distance before the update. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The signal processing system according to claim 3, wherein the distance is an Itakura-Saito distance or a Euclidean distance. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The signal processing system according to claim 2, wherein the decomposition unit updates a value calculated from spatial arrangement of a detector, implemented in computer hardware, configured to detect the input signals and the filters as an initial value of the spatial basis. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The signal processing system according to claim 2, wherein the decomposer updates a value learned in advance from learning data as an initial value of the spectral basis vector. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The signal processing system according to claim 1, wherein the converter converts each of the N output signals into the nonnegative signal that is an absolute value of each of the N output signals or a square of the absolute value of each of the N output signals. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The signal processing system according to claim 1, further comprising: an identifying processor, implemented in computer hardware, configured to perform identification processing based at least in part on the sound source signals; a calculator, implemented in computer hardware, configured to calculate a degree of separation indicating a degree that signal sources are separated by the filters, based at least in part on the spatial basis; and an output controller, implemented in computer hardware, configured to control an output of a result of the identification processing in accordance with the degree of separation. ### Claim 9 A signal processing method comprising: applying, to a plurality of time series input signals, N filters, N being an integer of 2 or greater, wherein each filter has different spatial characteristics from each other and wherein the N filters are estimated by an independent component analysis of the input signals to output N output signals; converting the N output signals into nonnegative signals each having a nonnegative value; decomposing the nonnegative signals into a spatial basis, a spectral basis matrix, and an activity vector, the spatial basis comprising nonnegative three-dimensional elements comprising K first elements, N second elements, and I third elements, K being an integer of 2 or greater according to a number of signal sources, I being an integer of 2 or greater and denoting a number of frequencies, the spectral basis matrix comprising a matrix of I rows and L columns that comprises L nonnegative spectral basis vectors expressed by I-dimensional column vectors, L being an integer of 2 or greater, the activity vector comprising a nonnegative L-dimensional vector; and estimating sound source signals representing signals of the signal sources based at least in part on the N output signals using the spatial basis, the spectral basis matrix, and the activity vector. ### Claim 10 A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising programmed instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform: applying, to a plurality of time series input signals, N filters, N being an integer of 2 or greater, wherein each filter has different spatial characteristics from each other, and wherein the N filters are estimated by an independent component analysis of the input signals to output N output signals; converting the N output signals into nonnegative signals each having a nonnegative value; decomposing the nonnegative signals into a spatial basis, a spectral basis matrix, and an activity vector, the spatial basis comprising nonnegative three-dimensional elements comprising K first elements, N second elements, and I third elements, K being an integer of 2 or greater according to a number of signal sources, I being an integer of 2 or greater and denoting a number of frequencies, the spectral basis matrix comprising a matrix of I rows and L columns that comprises L nonnegative spectral basis vectors expressed by I-dimensional column vectors, L being an integer of 2 or greater, the activity vector comprising a nonnegative L-dimensional vector; and estimating sound source signals representing signals of the signal sources based at least in part on the N output signals using the spatial basis, the spectral basis matrix, and the activity vector.