IP Library Granted Patent US 12,494,209
Granted Patent B2
US 12,494,209 · App. 18/032,533 · Granted Dec 9, 2025

Sound signal refinement method, sound signal decode method, apparatus thereof, program, and storage medium

Inventors: Ryosuke Sugiura (Tokyo, JP); Takehiro Moriya (Tokyo, JP); Yutaka Kamamoto (Tokyo, JP)
Assignee: NTT, Inc.
G10L19/008
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,494,209
App. No.
18/032,533
Granted
Dec 9, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

There is provided a technology that improves, in a case where there is a sound signal obtained from a different code that is different from a code from which a decoded sound signal is obtained and that is derived from the same sound signal, the decoded sound signal by using the sound signal obtained from the different code. A signal (hereinafter, referred to as a decoded sound common signal) obtained by downmixing a decoded sound signal of each channel is subjected to signal purification using a monaural decoded sound signal to thereby generate a purified common signal, and in each channel, the decoded sound common signal is subtracted from the decoded sound signal and the purified common signal is added thereto, to thereby generate a purified decoded sound signal.

Claims (238)

1 . A sound signal purification method for obtaining a purified decoded sound signal representing a sound signal of a channel of stereo,

the sound signal purification method comprising:

a decoded sound common signal estimation step of obtaining, for each frame, a decoded sound common signal {circumflex over ( )}Y M that is a signal common to all channels of the stereo by using at least all of one or more and N or less n-th channel decoded sound signals {circumflex over ( )}X n ,

wherein n represents each integer of 1 or more and N or less, the n-th channel decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X n represents a decoded sound signal of the each channel of the stereo, the n-th channel decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X n is obtained by decoding a stereo code CS and a monaural decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X M represents a monaural decoded sound signal, the monaural decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X M is obtained by decoding a monaural code CM that is a code different from the stereo code CS, and the n-th channel decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X n is obtained by decoding the stereo code CS without using either information obtained by decoding the monaural code CM or the monaural code CM;

a common signal purification step of obtaining, for the each frame and for each corresponding sample t, a sequence based on a value ˜ y M (t)=(1−α M )×{circumflex over ( )}y M (t)+α M ×{circumflex over ( )}x M (t) as a purified common signal ˜ Y M ,

wherein the value ˜ y M (t) is obtained by adding a value α M ×{circumflex over ( )}x M (t) and a value (1−α M )×{circumflex over ( )}y M (t), the value α M ×{circumflex over ( )}x M (t) is obtained by multiplying a common signal purification weight α m by a sample value {circumflex over ( )}x M (t) of the monaural decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}x M , the value (1−α M )×{circumflex over ( )}y M (t) is obtained by multiplying a value (1−α M ) by a sample value {circumflex over ( )}y M (t) of the decoded sound common signal {circumflex over ( )}Y M , and the value (1−α M ) is obtained by subtracting the common signal purification weight α M from 1;

an n-th channel separation combination weight estimation step of obtaining, for the each frame with respect to the each channel n, a normalized inner product value for the decoded sound common signal {circumflex over ( )}Y M of the n-th channel decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X n as an n-th channel separation combination weight β n ; and

an n-th channel separation combination step of obtaining, for the each frame and for each corresponding sample t with respect to the each channel n, a sequence based on a value ˜ x n (t)={circumflex over ( )}x n (t)−β n ×{circumflex over ( )}y M (t)+β n ×{circumflex over ( )}y M (t) as an n-th channel purified decode sound signal ˜ X n ,

wherein the value ˜ x n (t) is obtained by subtracting a value β n ×{circumflex over ( )}y M (t) from a sample value {circumflex over ( )}X n (t) of the n-th channel decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X n and adding a value β n ×{circumflex over ( )}y M (t), the value β n ×{circumflex over ( )}y M (t) is obtained by multiplying the n-th channel separation combination weight β n by the sample value {circumflex over ( )}y M (t) of the decoded sound common signal {circumflex over ( )}Y M , and the value β n × ˜ y M (t) is obtained by multiplying the n-th channel separation combination weight β n by a sample value ˜ y M (t) of the purified common signal ˜ Y M .

2 . The sound signal purification method according to claim 1 , wherein

the decoded sound common signal estimation step further comprises operations to

obtain a weighting coefficient that minimizes a difference between a weighted average of the decoded sound signals {circumflex over ( )}X 1 , . . . , {circumflex over ( )}X N of all channels from a first to an N-th channel and the monaural decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X M , and

obtain, as the decoded sound common signal {circumflex over ( )}Y M , the weighted average of the decoded sound signals {circumflex over ( )}X 1 , . . . , {circumflex over ( )}X N of all the channels from the first to the N-th channel using the obtained weighting coefficient.

3 . The sound signal purification method according to claim 1 , wherein

a number N of the channels is two, and

the decoded sound common signal estimation step further comprises operations to

use a sample value {circumflex over ( )}x 1 (t) of a first channel decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X 1 , a sample value {circumflex over ( )}x 2 (t) of a second channel decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X 2 , and an inter-channel correlation coefficient γ of a first channel and a second channel to obtain,

on a basis of information indicating which of the first channel and the second channel is preceding,

a sequence based on {circumflex over ( )}y M (t)=((1+γ)/2)×{circumflex over ( )}x 1 (t)+((1−γ)/2)×{circumflex over ( )}x 2 (t) as the decoded sound common signal {circumflex over ( )}Y M in a case where the first channel is preceding,

a sequence based on {circumflex over ( )}y M (t)=((1−γ)/2)×{circumflex over ( )}x 1 (t)+((1+γ)/2)×{circumflex over ( )}x 2 (t) as the decoded sound common signal {circumflex over ( )}Y M in a case where the second channel is preceding, or

a sequence based on {circumflex over ( )}y M (t)={circumflex over ( )}x 1 (t)+{circumflex over ( )}x 2 (t))/2 as the decoded sound common signal {circumflex over ( )}Y M in a case where none of the channels is preceding.

4 . The sound signal purification method according to claim 1 , further comprising

a common signal purification weight estimation step of obtaining,

for the each frame,

the common signal purification weight α M by

α

M

=

2

-

2

b

m

T

2

-

2

b

m

T

+

2

-

2

b

M

T

using a number of samples T per frame, a number of bits b m corresponding to a common signal in a number of bits of the stereo code CS, and a number of bits b M of the monaural code CM.

5 . The sound signal purification method according to claim 1 , further comprising

a common signal purification weight estimation step of obtaining,

for the each frame,

a value that is larger than 0 and smaller than 1, 0.5 when b m and b m are equal, closer to 0 than 0.5 as b m is larger than b M , and closer to 1 than 0.5 as b m is larger than b m by using at least a number of bits b m corresponding to a common signal in a number of bits of the stereo code CS, and a number of bits b M of the monaural code CM, as the common signal purification weight α M .

6 . The sound signal purification method according to claim 1 , further comprising

a common signal purification weight estimation step of obtaining,

for the each frame,

a value c M ×r M obtained by multiplying

a normalized inner product value r M for the monaural decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X M of the decoded sound common signal {circumflex over ( )}Y M by

a correction coefficient c M obtained by

c

M

=

2

-

2

b

m

T

2

-

2

b

m

T

+

2

-

2

b

M

T

using a number of samples T per frame, a number of bits b m corresponding to a common signal in a number of bits of the stereo code CS, and a number of bits b m of the monaural code CM, as the common signal purification weight α M .

7 . The sound signal purification method according to claim 1 , further comprising

a common signal purification weight estimation step of obtaining,

for the each frame,

with a number of bits corresponding to a common signal in a number of bits of the stereo code CS as b m and a number of bits of the monaural code CM as b M ,

a value c M ×r M obtained by multiplying

r M that is a value closer to 1 as a correlation between the decoded sound common signal {circumflex over ( )}Y M and the monaural decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X M is higher, and closer to 0 as the correlation is lower by

a correction coefficient c M that is a value larger than 0 and smaller than 1, 0.5 when b m and b M are equal, closer to 0 than 0.5 as b m is larger than b M , and closer to 1 than 0.5 as b m is smaller than b M , as the common signal purification weight α M .

8 . The sound signal purification method according to claim 1 , wherein

T is a number of samples per frame and each of ε m and ε M is a value larger than 0 and smaller than 1, and

the sound signal purification method further comprises

a common signal purification weight estimation step of obtaining,

for the each frame,

a value c M ×r M obtained by multiplying

a normalized inner product value r M obtained by

r M =E m (0)/ E M (0)

using an inner product value E m (0) obtained by

E

m

(

0

)

=

ϵ

m

E

m

(

-

1

)

+

(

1

-

ϵ

m

)

T

t

=

1

T

y

ˆ

M

(

t

)

x

ˆ

M

(

t

)

using each sample value {circumflex over ( )}y M (t) of the decoded sound common signal {circumflex over ( )}Y M , each sample value {circumflex over ( )}x M (t) of the monaural decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X M , and an inner product value E m (−1) of a previous frame, and

energy E M (0) of the monaural decoded sound signal obtained by

E

M

(

0

)

=

ϵ

M

E

M

(

-

1

)

+

(

1

-

ϵ

M

)

T

t

=

1

T

x

ˆ

M

(

t

)

x

ˆ

M

(

t

)

using the each sample value {circumflex over ( )}X M (t) of the monaural decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X M and energy E M (−1) of the monaural decoded sound signal of the previous frame, by

a correction coefficient c M obtained by

c

M

=

2

-

2

b

m

T

2

-

2

b

m

T

+

2

-

2

b

M

T

using a number of samples T per frame, a number of bits b m corresponding to a common signal in a number of bits of the stereo code CS, and a number of bits b M of the monaural code CM, as the common signal purification weight α M .

9 . The sound signal purification method according to claim 6 , wherein

the common signal purification weight estimation step further comprises operations to

obtain a value λ×c M ×r M obtained by multiplying the normalized inner product value r M , the correction coefficient c M , and λ that is a predetermined value larger than 0 and smaller than 1 as the common signal purification weight α M .

10 . The sound signal purification method according to claim 6 , wherein

a number N of the channels is two, and

the common signal purification weight estimation step further comprises operations to

obtain a value γ×c M ×r M obtained by multiplying the normalized inner product value r M , the correction coefficient c M , and an inter-channel correlation coefficient γ that is a correlation coefficient between a first channel decoded sound signal and a second channel decoded sound signal as the common signal purification weight α M .

11 . A sound signal decoding method comprising the sound signal purification method according to claim 1 as a sound signal purification step, the sound signal decoding method further comprising:

a stereo decoding step of decoding the stereo code CS to obtain the n-th channel decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X n of the each channel n without using either information obtained by decoding the monaural code CM or the monaural code CM; and

a monaural decoding step of decoding the monaural code CM to obtain the monaural decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X M .

12 . A sound signal purification device for obtaining a purified decoded sound signal representing a sound signal of a channel of stereo,

the sound signal purification device further comprises

a decoded sound common signal estimation circuitry configured to obtain, for each frame, a decoded sound common signal {circumflex over ( )}Y M that is a signal common to all channels of the stereo by using at least all of one or more and N or less n-th channel decoded sound signals {circumflex over ( )}X n ,

wherein n represents each integer of 1 or more and N or less, the n-th channel decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X n represents a decoded sound signal of the each channel of the stereo, the n-th channel decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X n is obtained by decoding a stereo code CS and a monaural decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X M represents a monaural decoded sound signal, the monaural decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X M is obtained by decoding a monaural code CM that is a code different from the stereo code CS, and the n-th channel decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X n is obtained by decoding the stereo code CS without using either information obtained by decoding the monaural code CM or the monaural code CM;

a common signal purification circuitry configured to obtain, for the each frame and for each corresponding sample t, a sequence based on a value ˜ y M (t)=(1−α M )×{circumflex over ( )}y M (t)+α M ×{circumflex over ( )}X M (t) as a purified common signal ˜ Y M , wherein the value ˜ y M (t) is obtained by adding a value α M ×{circumflex over ( )}X M (t) and a value (1−α M )×{circumflex over ( )}y M (t), the value α M ×{circumflex over ( )}X M (t) is obtained by multiplying a common signal purification weight am by a sample value {circumflex over ( )}X M (t) of the monaural decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X M , the value (1−α M )×{circumflex over ( )}y M (t) is obtained by multiplying a value (1−α M ) by a sample value {circumflex over ( )}y M (t) of the decoded sound common signal {circumflex over ( )}Y M , and the value (1−α M ) is obtained by subtracting the common signal purification weight α M from 1;

an n-th channel separation combination weight estimation circuitry configured to obtain, for the each frame with respect to the each channel n, a normalized inner product value for the decoded sound common signal {circumflex over ( )}Y M of the n-th channel decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X n as an n-th channel separation combination weight β n ; and

an n-th channel separation combination circuitry configured to obtain, for the each frame and for each corresponding sample t with respect to the each channel n, a sequence based on a value ˜ x n (t)={circumflex over ( )}X n (t)−β n ×{circumflex over ( )}y M (t)+β n × ˜ y M (t) as an n-th channel purified decoded sound signal ˜ X n , wherein the value ˜ x n (t) is obtained by subtracting a value β n ×{circumflex over ( )}y M (t) from a sample value {circumflex over ( )}x n (t) of the n-th channel decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X n and adding a value β n × ˜ y M (t), the value β n ×{circumflex over ( )}y M (t) is obtained by multiplying the n-th channel separation combination weight β n by the sample value {circumflex over ( )}y M (t) of the decoded sound common signal {circumflex over ( )}Y M , and the value β n × ˜ y M (t) is obtained by multiplying the n-th channel separation combination weight β n by a sample value ˜ y M (t) of the purified common signal ˜ Y M .

13 . A sound signal decoding device comprising the sound signal purification device according to claim 12 as a sound signal purification circuitry, the sound signal decoding device further comprising:

a stereo decoding circuitry configured to decode the stereo code CS to obtain the n-th channel decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X n of the each channel n without using either information obtained by decoding the monaural code CM or the monaural code CM; and

a monaural decoding circuitry configured to decode the monaural code CM to obtain the monaural decoded sound signal {circumflex over ( )}X M .

14 . A non-transitory recording medium recording a program for causing a computer to execute the sound signal purification method according to claim 1 .

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Jan 1, 2026
From: NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION
To: NTT, INC.
Reel/Frame 074164/0597 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 18, 2023
From: SUGIURA, RYOSUKE; MORIYA, TAKEHIRO; KAMAMOTO, YUTAKA
To: NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 063367/0031 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230386482A1 · Nov 30, 2023
References Cited (3)
US 20080010072A1 · Yoshida et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
JP 2005117132A · 2005 [cited by applicant]
WO 2006070751A1 · 2006 [cited by applicant]