# US 12,192,733 B2 · Method for audio processing > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,192,733 B2 - Document ID: US12192733B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/974,820 - Filed: 2022-10-27 - Published: 2023-05-04 - Granted: 2025-01-07 - Earliest claimed: 2021-10-29 - Assignees: Harman International Industries, Incorporated - Applicants: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH - Inventors: Friedrich Von Tuerckheim; Adrian Von Dem Knesebeck - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12192733B2 ## CPC - H04S 5/00: Pseudo-stereo systems, e.g. in which additional channel signals are derived from monophonic signals by means of phase shifting, time delay or reverberation - H04S 7/30: {Control circuits for electronic adaptation of the sound field} - H04R 5/04: Circuit arrangements, {e.g. for selective connection of amplifier inputs/outputs to loudspeakers, for loudspeaker detection, or for adaptation of settings to personal preferences or hearing impairments (combinations of amplifiers H03F3/68; stereophonic systems H04S)} - H04S 3/008: {in which the audio signals are in digital form, i.e. employing more than two discrete digital channels (data reduction aspects thereof based on psychoacoustics G10L19/02)} - H04S 7/303: {Tracking of listener position or orientation} - H04S 7/307: {Frequency adjustment, e.g. tone control (H04S7/301 takes precedence)} - H04R 2499/13: Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles - H04S 2400/01: Multi-channel, i.e. more than two input channels, sound reproduction with two speakers wherein the multi-channel information is substantially preserved - H04S 2420/01: Enhancing the perception of the sound image or of the spatial distribution using head related transfer functions [HRTF's] or equivalents thereof, e.g. interaural time difference [ITD] or interaural level difference [ILD] - H04S: STEREOPHONIC SYSTEMS - 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 method for audio processing, the method comprising: determining at least one input audio object that includes an input audio object signal and an input audio object location, wherein the input audio object location includes a distance and a direction relative to a listener location; depending on the distance, applying a delay, a gain, and/or a spectral modification to the input audio object signal to produce a first dry signal; depending on the direction, panning the first dry signal to the locations of a plurality of speakers around the listener location to produce a second dry signal; depending on one or more predetermined room characteristics, generating an artificial reverberation signal from the input audio object signal; mixing the second dry signal and the artificial reverberation signal to produce a multichannel audio signal; and outputting each channel of the multichannel audio signal by one of the plurality of speakers. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for audio processing, the method comprising: determining at least one input audio object that includes an input audio object signal and an input audio object location, wherein the input audio object location includes a distance and a direction relative to a listener location; depending on the distance, applying at least one of a delay, a gain, and a spectral modification to the input audio object signal to produce a first dry signal; depending on the direction, panning the first dry signal to locations of a plurality of speakers around the listener location to produce a second dry signal; depending on one or more predetermined room characteristics, generating an artificial reverberation signal from the input audio object signal; mixing the second dry signal and the artificial reverberation signal to produce a multichannel audio signal; and outputting each channel of the multichannel audio signal by one of the plurality of speakers. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a common spectral modification to adapt the input audio object signal to a frequency range generable by all speakers. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein the common spectral modification comprises a band-pass filter. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising applying at least one of a spectral speaker adaptation and a time-dependent gain on a signal of at least one channel, and outputting the at least one channel by at least a height speaker comprised in the plurality of speakers. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a sub-range of a spectral range of the input audio object signal; outputting, by one or more main speakers that are closer to a listener position than remaining speakers, a main playback signal including frequency components of the input audio object signal that correspond to the sub-range; and discarding the frequency components of the second dry signal that correspond to the sub-range. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein the sub-range comprises a part of the spectral range of the input audio object signal below a predetermined cutoff frequency. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein determining a cutoff frequency comprises: determining the spectral range of the input audio object signal, and calculating the cutoff frequency as an absolute cutoff frequency of a predetermined relative cutoff frequency relative to the spectral range. ### Claim 8 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein the main speakers are comprised in or attached to a headrest of a seat in proximity to the listener position. ### Claim 9 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, further comprising outputting by the main speakers, a mix, in particular a sum, of the main playback signal and the multichannel audio signal. ### Claim 10 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, further comprising transforming the multichannel audio signal to be output by the main speakers by a head-related transfer function of a virtual source location at a greater distance to the listener position than a position of the main speakers. ### Claim 11 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, further comprising transforming, by cross-talk cancellation, the multichannel audio signal to be output by the main speakers into a binaural main playback signal, wherein outputting the main playback signal comprises outputting the binaural main playback signal by at least two main speakers comprised in the plurality of speakers. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising panning the artificial reverberation signal to the locations of the plurality of speakers. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) An apparatus for generating the multichannel audio signal based on the method of claim 1. ### Claim 14 A method for audio processing, the method comprising: receiving a plurality of input audio objects, and processing each of the plurality of input audio objects, generating an artificial reverberation signal by: generating an adjusted signal, for each input audio object by modifying a gain for an input audio object signal depending on a corresponding distance; determining a sum of the adjusted signals; and processing the sum by a single-channel reverberation generator to generate the artificial reverberation signal. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the input audio object indicates one or more of: a navigation prompt, a distance between a vehicle and an object outside the vehicle, a warning related to a blind spot around the vehicle, a warning of a risk of collision of the vehicle with an object outside the vehicle, and/or a status indication of a device attached to or comprised in the vehicle. ### Claim 16 A method for audio processing, the method comprising: determining at least one input audio object that includes an input audio object signal and an input audio object location, wherein the input audio object location includes a distance and a direction relative to a listener location; depending on the distance, applying at least one of a delay, a gain, and a spectral modification to the input audio object signal to produce a first dry signal; depending on the direction, panning the first dry signal to locations of a plurality of speakers to produce a second dry signal; depending on one or more predetermined room characteristics, generating an artificial reverberation signal from the input audio object signal; mixing the second dry signal and the artificial reverberation signal to produce a multichannel audio signal; and outputting each channel of the multichannel audio signal by one of the plurality of speakers. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, further comprising applying a common spectral modification to adapt the input audio object signal to a frequency range generable by all speakers. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, wherein the common spectral modification comprises a band-pass filter. ### Claim 19 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, further comprising applying at least one of a spectral speaker adaptation and a time-dependent gain on a signal of at least one channel, and outputting the at least one channel by at least a height speaker comprised in the plurality of speakers. ### Claim 20 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, further comprising: determining a sub-range of a spectral range of the input audio object signal; outputting, by one or more main speakers that are closer to a listener position than remaining speakers, a main playback signal including frequency components of the input audio object signal that correspond to the sub-range; and discarding the frequency components of the second dry signal that correspond to the sub-range.