Spatialized audio over headphones
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorsWei-ge Chen, Zhengyou Zhang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A spatial element is added to communications, including over telephone conference calls heard through headphones or a stereo speaker setup. Functions are created to modify signals from different callers to create the illusion that the callers are speaking from different parts of the room.
Claims20
A method of providing directional hearing experience for a conference call comprising:
- broadcasting a first signal from a first source at a first location;
- receiving the first signal at a hearing location wherein the first signal is received in a left channel and a right channel located at the hearing location;
- storing the left channel of the first signal received at the hearing location as a first left channel received signal in a memory;
- storing the right channel of the first signal received at the hearing location as a first right channel received signal in a memory;
- storing the first location in a memory wherein the first location further comprises a location in relation to the hearing location;
- creating a first left channel function to modify the first signal to minimize a difference between the first signal and the first left channel received signal;
- storing the first left channel function in a memory;
- creating a first right channel function to modify the first signal to minimize the difference between the first signal and the first right channel received signal;
- storing the first right channel function in a memory;
- creating a first modified conference call signal wherein the first modified conference call signal comprises a modified first left channel and a modified first right channel by applying the first left channel function to a first conference call signal to create the modified first left channel and applying the first right channel function to the first conference call signal to create the modified first right channel;
- and
- communicating the first modified conference call signal to a user for playing back over headphones.
A computer storage medium comprising computer executable instructions for providing directional hearing experience for a conference call, the computer executable instructions comprising instructions for:
- broadcasting a first signal from a first source at a first location;
- receiving the first signal at a hearing location wherein the first signal is received in a left channel and a right channel located at the hearing location;
- storing the left channel of the first signal received at the hearing location as a first left channel received signal in a memory;
- storing the right channel of the first signal received at the hearing location as a first right channel received signal in a memory;
- and
- storing the first location in a memory wherein the first location further comprises a location in relation to the hearing location.
A computer system comprising a processor physically configured according to computer executable instructions for providing directional hearing experience for a conference call, a memory for maintaining the computer executable instructions and an input/output circuit, the computer executable instructions comprising computer executable instructions for:
- creating a first left channel function to modify a first signal to minimize a difference between the first signal and a first left channel received signal;
- storing the first left channel function in a memory;
- creating a first right channel function to modify a first signal to minimize a difference between the first signal and a first right channel received signal;
- storing the first right channel function in a memory;
- creating a first modified conference call signal wherein the first modified conference call signal comprises a modified first left channel and a modified first right channel by applying the first left channel function to a first conference call signal to create the modified first left channel and applying the first right channel function to the first conference call signal to create the modified first right channel;
- and
- communicating the first modified conference call signal to a user wearing headphones.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.