IP Library Granted Patent US 9,997,170
Granted Patent B2
US 9,997,170 · App. 15/517,855 · Granted Jun 12, 2018

Electronic device and reverberation removal method therefor

Inventors: Sharon Gannot (Ramat-Gan, IL); Emanuel A. P. Habets (Erlangen, DE); Ofer Shvarts (Ramat-Gan, IL); Nam-gook Cho (Suwon-si, KR)
Assignees: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.; Bar-Llan Research & Development Company Ltd.
G10L21/0232G10L21/0272H04R1/406H04R3/005G10L2021/02082G10L2021/02166
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,997,170
App. No.
15/517,855
Granted
Jun 12, 2018
Kind
B2
Abstract

Provided are an electronic device and a reverberation removal method therefor. The reverberation removal method for an electronic device comprises: a plurality of microphone units for receiving a user's voice; a reverberation removal unit removing a reverberation component of the user's voice received from the plurality of microphone units so as to acquire an original component of the user's voice; a reverberation information acquisition unit for acquiring information on the intensity of the reverberation component of the user's voice; and a post-processing unit for additionally removing a reverberation component from the original component acquired from the reverberation removal unit on the basis of the information on the intensity of the reverberation component.

Claims (26)

1. An electronic device comprising:

a plurality of microphone units configured to receive a user voice;

a reverberation reduction unit comprising:

a fixed beamformer configured to acquire an original component of the user voice by reducing a reverberation component of the user voice received from the plurality of microphone units;

a blocking matrix configured to block the original component of the user voice received from the plurality of microphone units; and

an adaptive noise canceller configured to adaptively cancel the reverberation component from the user voice of the original component by using the user voice with the original component reduced;

a reverberation information acquisition unit configured to acquire information on an intensity of the reverberation component of the user voice;

a post-processing unit configured to additionally reduce the reverberation component from the original component acquired from the reverberation reduction unit based on the information on the intensity of the reverberation component, and

an original component measurement unit configured to measure the original component from the plurality of microphone units,

wherein the blocking matrix is configured to block the original component of the user voice received from the plurality of microphone units by using the original component outputted from the original component measurement unit.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the reverberation reduction unit is configured to acquire the original component of the user voice by reducing the reverberation component of the user voice by using a minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) beamformer.

3. The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the MVDR beamformer is implemented by using a generalized sidelobe canceller.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the fixed beamformer is a delay and sum (DS) beamformer.

5. A method for reducing a reverberation of an electronic device, the method comprising:

receiving a user voice via a plurality of microphones;

acquiring an original component of the user voice by reducing a reverberation component of the user voice received from the plurality of microphones;

acquiring information on an intensity of the reverberation component of the user voice; and

additionally reducing the reverberation component from the acquired original component based on the information on the intensity of the reverberation component,

measuring, by an original component measurement unit, the original component from a plurality of microphone units,

wherein the acquiring the original component of the user voice comprises:

extracting, by a fixed beamformer, the original component of the user voice by reducing the reverberation component of the user voice received from the plurality of microphones;

blocking, by a blocking matrix, the original component of the user voice received from the plurality of microphones by using the original component outputted from the original component measurement unit; and

adaptively cancelling, by an adaptive noise canceller, the reverberation component from the user voice of the original component by using the user voice with the original component reduced.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the step of acquiring the original component of the user voice acquires the original component of the user voice by reducing the reverberation component of the user voice by using a minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) beamformer.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the MVDR beamformer is implemented by using a generalized sidelobe canceller.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the fixed beamformer is a delay and sum (DS) beamformer.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 11, 2017
From: GANNOT, SHARON; HABETS, EMANUEL A.P.; SHVARTS, OFER; CHO, NAM-GOOK
To: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.; BAR-ILAN RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD.
Reel/Frame 042221/0030 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20170309294A1 · Oct 26, 2017