Audio output apparatus and audio output method
AssigneeSony Corporation
InventorTokihiko Sawashi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An audio output apparatus includes a masking band determining unit configured to determine a first frequency band in which masking due to environmental sounds is likely to occur in audio signal output sounds; a band-component extracting unit configured to extract a signal component from an input audio signal in the first frequency band determined by the masking band determining unit; a pitch shift unit configured to perform pitch shifting of the signal component in the first frequency band extracted by the band-component extracting unit and generate a pitch shift signal containing a signal component of at least a doubled frequency; and a signal output unit configured to supply an audio signal containing the pitch shift signal acquired by the pitch shift unit to a connected speaker.
Claims7
An audio output apparatus comprising:
- a masking band determining unit configured to determine a first frequency band in which masking due to environmental sounds is likely to occur in audio signal output sounds;
- a band-component extracting unit configured to extract a signal component from an input audio signal in the first frequency band determined by the masking band determining unit;
- a pitch shift unit configured to perform pitch shifting of the signal component in the first frequency band extracted by the band-component extracting unit and generate a pitch shift signal containing a signal component of at least a doubled frequency;
- and
- a signal output unit configured to supply an audio signal containing the pitch shift signal acquired by the pitch shift unit to a connected speaker.
An audio output apparatus comprising:
- a masking determining unit configured to determine whether or not masking due to environmental sounds occurs to audio signal output sounds;
- a band-component extracting unit configured to extract a signal component of a specific frequency band from an input audio signal when the masking determining unit determines that masking occurs;
- a pitch shift unit configured to perform pitch shifting of a signal component in a first frequency band extracted by the band-component extracting unit and generates a pitch shift signal containing a signal component of at least a doubled frequency;
- and
- a signal output unit configured to supply an audio signal containing the pitch signal acquired by the pitch shift unit to a connected speaker.
An audio output method comprising the steps of:
- determining a first frequency band in which masking due to environmental sounds is likely to occur in audio signal output sounds;
- extracting a signal component in the first frequency band from an audio signal;
- performing pitch shifting of the signal component in the extracted first frequency band and generating a pitch shift signal containing a signal component of at least a doubled frequency;
- and
- supplying an audio signal containing the pitch shift signal to a connected speaker.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.