Asymmetric multichannel filter

1. A multi-channel filter comprising:

S inputs for receiving S input signals (x 1 . . . x S );

at least S filters coupled to the S inputs for filtering the input signals (x 1 . . . x S ) or auxiliary signals (y 1 . . . y S ) derived therefrom;

a signal combiner for combining the filtered signals into an output signal (ê), with S being the number of channels of the multi-channel filter;

a further signal combiner coupled in between at least part of the inputs and at least part of the filters, the further signal combiner combining at least part of the input signals (x 1 . . . x S ) into at least one auxiliary signal (y 1 . . . y S ), wherein at least one of the filters has a filter length which is substantially larger than the filter lengths of the other filters.

2. The multi-channel filter as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the further signal combiner comprises an adder for deriving the at least one auxiliary signal (y 1 ) from the S input signals (x 1 . . . x S ).

3. The multi-channel filter claimed in claim 2 , wherein the further signal combiner derives the auxiliary signals (y 1 . . . y S ) from the S input signals (x 1 . . . x S ) according to:

y

1

=

∑

i

=

1

S

⁢

⁢

x

i

⁢

⁢

and

⁢

⁢

y

i

=

(

S

-

1

)

⁢

x

i

-

1

-

x

S

for 1<i≦S.

4. The multi-channel filter as claimed in claim 1 , wherein S is equal to 2, and wherein the further signal combiner derives the auxiliary signals (y 1 , Y 2 ) from the input signals (x 1 , x 2 ) according to:

y

1

=

x

1

+

x

2

2

⁢

⁢

and

⁢

⁢

y

2

=

x

1

-

x

2

2

.

5. An acoustic echo canceller including a multi-channel filter comprising:

S inputs for receiving S input signals (x 1 . . . x S );

at least S filters ( 14 , 28 ) coupled to the S inputs for filtering the input signals (x 1 . . . x S ) or auxiliary signals (y 1 . . . y S ) derived therefrom,

a signal combiner for combining the filtered signals into an output signal (ê), with S being the number of channels of the multi-channel filter; and

a further signal combiner coupled in between at least part of the inputs and at least part of the filters, the further signal combiner combining at least part of the input signals (x 1 . . . x S ) into at least one auxiliary signal (y 1 . . . Y S ), wherein at least one of the filters has a filter length which is substantially larger than the filter lengths of the other filters.

6. A noise canceller including a multi-channel filter comprising:

S inputs for receiving S input signals (x 1 . . . x S );

at least S filters coupled to the S inputs for filtering the input signals (x 1 . . . x S ) or auxiliary signals (y 1 . . . y S ) derived therefrom;

a signal combiner for combining the filtered signals into an output signal (ê), with S being the number of channels of the multi-channel filter; and

a further signal combiner coupled in between at least part of the inputs and at least part of the filters, the further signal combiner combining at least part of the input signals (x 1 . . . x S ) into at least one auxiliary signal (y 1 . . . y S ), wherein at least one of the filters has a filter length which is substantially larger than the filter lengths of the other filters.

7. A voice-controlled audio and/or video system including a multi-channel filter comprising:

S inputs for receiving S input signals (x 1 . . . x S );

at least S filters coupled to the S inputs for filtering the input signals (x 1 . . . x S ) or auxiliary signals (y 1 . . . y S ) derived therefrom;

a signal combiner for combining the filtered signals into an output signal (ê), with S being the number of channels of the multi-channel filter; and

a further signal combiner coupled in between at least part of the inputs and at least part of the filters, the further signal combiner combining at least part of the input signals (x 1 . . . x S ) into at least one auxiliary signal (y 1 . . . y S ), wherein at least one of the filters has a filter length which is substantially larger than the filter lengths of the other filters.

8. An audio and/or video conferencing system including an acoustic echo canceller with a multi-channel filter, said multi-channel filter comprising:

S inputs for receiving S input signals (x 1 . . . x S );

at least S filters coupled to the S inputs for filtering the input signals (x 1 . . . x S ) or auxiliary signals (y 1 . . . y S ) derived therefrom;

a signal combiner for combining the filtered signals into an output signal (ê), with S being the number of channels of the multi-channel filter; and

a further signal combiner coupled in between at least part of the inputs and at least part of the filters, the further signal combiner combining at least part of the input signals (x 1 . . . x S ) into at least one auxiliary signal (y 1 . . . y S ), wherein at least one of the filters has a filter length which is substantially larger than the filter lengths of the other filters.

9. A multi-channel filtering method, the method comprising the steps of:

combining at least part of S input signals (x 1 . . . x S ) into at least one auxiliary signal (y 1 . . . y S );

filtering the input signals (x 1 . . . x S ) and/or the at least one auxiliary signal (y 1 . . . y S ) using at least S filters, wherein at least one of the filters has a filter length which is substantially larger than the filter lengths of the other filters; and

combining the filtered signals into an output signal (ê).