US 11,451,907 B2Granted

Techniques combining plural head-related transfer function (HRTF) spheres to place audio objects

AssigneeSony Corporation

InventorsJames R. Milne, Gregory Peter Carlsson

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Abstract

Concentric rings of speakers in a room are activated in sequence to emit test sounds that are picked up by microphones placed in the ears of a listener in the middle of the room. The output of the microphones is used to generate plural HRTF spheres that are concentric, and that can be convolved with each other to render a multi-distance HRTF filter that can be configured to “move” the perceived distance and bearing of audio objects “inside” the outer sphere as desired, without being restricted to placing the audio objects at the outer edges of a single sphere. Any desired placement of an audio object between spheres is done by interpolating between respective coefficients of the closest spheres.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A system comprising:

at least one processor configured with instructions to:
access at least first and second sets of head related transfer functions (HRTF) associated with respective first and second distances from a location, the first distance being shorter than the second distance;
identify a demanded distance of at least one audio object;
select at least a first HRTF from the first set of HRTFs based at least in part on the demanded distance being closer to the first distance than to the second distance;
subtract from the first HRTF a headphone HRTF derived using at least one speaker in a headphone and at least one microphone in the headphone to render a modified first HRTF, the headphone HRTF related to acoustics of the headphone itself;
and
process the audio object using the modified first HRTF to render the audio object;
detect sound emitted by the at least one speaker using plural microphones in a first set of microphones located at a first radial distance from the at least one speaker;
use signals from the plural microphones in the first set of microphones to establish the first set of HRTF s;
detect sound emitted by the at least one speaker using plural microphones in a second set of microphones located at a second radial distance from the at least one speaker;
and
use signals from the plural microphones in the second set of microphones to establish the second set of HRTFs.

9 more elements

A method, comprising:

establishing plural sets of head related transfer functions (HRTF) associated with respective plural radial distances from a headphones and outside the headphones;
providing the plural sets of HRTF at least one of which is modified by a headphone HRTF derived using at least one speaker in the headphones and at least one microphone in the headphones to render audio objects, the headphone HRTF related to how a user hears with the headphones themselves;
wherein the establishing comprises:
energizing at least one speaker at the origin;
detecting sound emitted by the speaker using plural microphones in a first set of microphones located at the first radial distance from the at least one speaker;
using signals from the microphones in the first set of microphones located at the first radial distance to establish a first of the sets of HRTF;
moving the first set of microphones to the second radial distance;
detecting sound emitted by the first set of microphones located at the second radial distance from the at least one speaker;
and
using signals from the first set of microphones located at the second radial distance to establish a second of the sets of HRTF.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/424,983Filed 29 May 2019
Published: US 2020/0382871 A13 Dec 2020
Granted: 20 Sep 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification19 codes

H04R 5/04
Stereophonic arrangements: circuit arrangements, e.g. for selective connection of amplifier inputs/outputs to loudspeakers, for loudspeaker…
H04R 1/1008
Earpieces; Attachments therefor ; Earphones; Monophonic headphones: earpieces of the supra-aural or circum-aural type
H04R 5/027
Stereophonic arrangements: spatial or constructional arrangements of microphones, e.g. in dummy heads
H04R 5/033
Stereophonic arrangements: headphones for stereophonic communication

Family

US 2020/0382871 A1Pre-grant publication · published 3 Dec 2020
US 11,451,907 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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