Apparatus and method for improving the perceived quality of sound reproduction by combining active noise cancellation and perceptual noise compensation

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This patent introduces an apparatus and method that significantly enhance the perceived quality of sound reproduction, especially in noisy environments. It achieves this by combining Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) technology, which generates anti-noise signals to cancel out environmental noise, with Perceptual Noise Compensation (PNC), which uses psychoacoustic models to compensate for the noise that ANC cannot fully eliminate. The invention estimates the characteristics of the residual noise that remains after ANC and dynamically adjusts the audio output so that users perceive music or speech almost as if they were in a quiet environment.

Use CasesContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• High-quality headphones for use in noisy environments such as airplanes, trains, or busy streets.
• Hearing protection devices that also need to provide clear communication or audio playback (e.g., construction headsets).
• Audio systems in vehicles (cars, buses, airplanes) to improve passenger listening experience.
• Headsets used in call centers, industrial settings, or control rooms where both noise reduction and clear communication are crucial.
• Assistive listening devices for individuals with hearing impairment to enhance intelligibility of speech in noise.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Greatly improves audio quality by addressing not only the cancelable noise but also the residual noise left after standard ANC processing.
• Delivers a natural and clear listening experience in environments with significant background noise.
• Enables lower playback volume while maintaining audio clarity, thereby reducing the risk of hearing damage.
• Cost-effective implementation by leveraging the same microphones and speakers for both ANC and PNC processing.
• Flexibly adapts the audio output based on real-time conditions by estimating actual residual noise, rather than relying on static settings.
• Can selectively avoid compensating for important alarm or speech signals from the environment, enhancing both safety and user awareness.

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Patent Abstract

An apparatus for improving a perceived quality of sound reproduction of an audio output signal is provided. The apparatus comprises an active noise cancellation unit (110) for generating a noise cancellation signal based on an environmental audio signal, wherein the environmental audio signal comprises noise signal portions, the noise signal portions resulting from recording environmental noise. Moreover, the apparatus comprises a residual noise characteristics estimator (120) for determining a residual noise characteristic depending on the environmental noise and the noise cancellation signal. Furthermore, the apparatus comprises a perceptual noise compensation unit (130) for generating a noise-compensated signal based on an audio target signal and based on the residual noise characteristic. Moreover, the apparatus comprises a combiner (140) for combining the noise cancellation signal and the noise-compensated signal to obtain the audio output signal.