Patents by Inventor Hiroko Numazu

Hiroko Numazu has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5796845
    Abstract: The apparatus of the invention calculates filter coefficients for controlling sound field and sound image, based on a plurality of first impulse response signals and a pair of second impulse response signals. The plurality of first impulse response signals indicate impulse responses from loudspeakers reproducing audio signals to both ears of a listener. The pair of second impulse response signals indicate impulse responses from a reference loudspeaker at a position at which a sound image is localized to both ears of the listener.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 18, 1998
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsuhiko Serikawa, Ryou Tagami, Akihisa Kawamura, Masaharu Matsumoto, Mikio Oda, Hiroko Numazu
  • Patent number: 5684881
    Abstract: The apparatus of the invention calculates filter coefficients for controlling sound field and sound image, based on a plurality of first impulse response signals and a pair of second impulse response signals. The plurality of first impulse response signals indicate impulse responses from loudspeakers reproducing audio signals to both ears of a listener. The pair of second impulse response signals indicate impulse responses from a reference loudspeaker at a position at which a sound image is localized to both ears of the listener.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 4, 1997
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsuhiko Serikawa, Ryou Tagami, Akihisa Kawamura, Masaharu Matsumoto, Mikio Oda, Hiroko Numazu
  • Patent number: 5617478
    Abstract: A sound reproduction system for automatically conducting a tone control for an audio signal according to the present invention includes: an input terminal for inputting an audio signal; a judgment circuit for determining a ratio between a stereophonic signal component and a monophonic signal component of the input audio signal and for outputting a judgment signal; a signal processing section for receiving the input audio signal and processing the input audio signal so as to generate an output signal having uniform transmission characteristics irrespective of the listening position; an adder for receiving the input audio signal and the output signal and for adding the input audio signal with the output signal at a certain addition ratio based on the judgment signal so as to generate an added signal; and a loudspeaker for receiving the added signal and for reproducing the added signal in a plurality of positions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 1, 1997
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ryou Tagami, Takeshi Norimatsu, Masaharu Matsumoto, Mikio Oda, Mitsuhiko Serikawa, Akihisa Kawamura, Hiroko Numazu
  • Patent number: 5572591
    Abstract: According the present invention, a sound field controller for reproducing a sound field with presence comprising; input terminals for inputting an audio signal having a first and a second channel signals, a signal extracting circuit for receiving and processing the audio signal, and producing an extracted signal of the audio signal, an operation circuit for receiving the extracted signal from the signal extracting circuit, performing the convolution on the extracted signal, and generating a convolution sum signal, a delay circuit for delaying the convolution sum signal by a predetermined time, and producing a delayed signal, an adding circuit for receiving the audio signal and the delayed signal, and adding the audio signal and the delayed signal with a predetermined summation ratio to produce a summed signal, and output terminals for reproducing the summed signal to localize a sound image in a desirable direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 5, 1996
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroko Numazu, Masaharu Matsumoto, Akihisa Kawamura, Ryou Tagami, Mikio Oda
  • Patent number: 5442712
    Abstract: A sound signal picked-up by a microphone is processed in a howl suppresser including a digital filter. A frequency analyzer performs frequency analysis of the picked-up sound signal. A howl detector detects a howl contained in the sound signal from a result of frequency analysis by the frequency analyzer. A coefficient calculator calculates coefficients to be input to the digital filter to suppress the howl according to a detection result by the howl detector, and a controller inputs the calculated coefficients to the digital filter. The howl detector judges that a maximum peak power level among power levels of the sound signal in a frequency region analyzed by the frequency analyzer is a howl component when a ratio of the maximum peak power level to a mean power level of the sound signal is larger than a predetermined threshold level, preferably for a predetermined threshold time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 1993
    Date of Patent: August 15, 1995
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akihisa Kawamura, Masaharu Matsumoto, Mitsuhiko Serikawa, Hiroko Numazu
  • Patent number: 5381482
    Abstract: A sound field controller for generating apparent sound sources by adjusting the amplitude and delay time of a sound signal so that the sound will be perceived by plural listeners as sound coming from a location separated from the specific location of the front speakers, and for additionally controlling the effect of the apparent sound sources by evaluating the attributes of the source sound signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 10, 1995
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaharu Matsumoto, Mitsuhiko Serikawa, Akihisa Kawamura, Hiroko Numazu, Takeshi Norimatsu, Ryo Tagami, Mikio Oda
  • Patent number: 5375188
    Abstract: A music/voice discriminating apparatus is composed of a signal processing portion for effecting the signal processing upon input acoustic signals, a music/voice deciding portion for discriminating whether the input acoustic signals are music or voice, a first signal processing portion for optimally setting acoustic parameters for the signal processing respectively for music or voice, and a second signal processing portion for controlling the acoustic parameters of the first signal processing portion in accordance with the decision results of the music/voice deciding portion so that it may become a desirable value set in the second parameter setting portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 1992
    Date of Patent: December 20, 1994
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsuhiko Serikawa, Akihisa Kawamura, Masaharu Matsumoto, Hiroko Numazu
  • Patent number: 5233661
    Abstract: A sound field is generated responsive to direct sound picked up by a direct-sound collecting microphone and indirect-sound picked up by an indirect-sound collecting microphone. Respective processing circuits are provided for signal processing the sound signals of the direct-sound collecting microphone and the indirect-sound collecting microphone. An adaptive filter is provided having a transfer function equal to a transfer function from a reproducing speaker to the indirect-sound collecting microphone. The output of the signal processing circuit associated with the indirect-sound collecting microphone is filtered by the adaptive filter, and the output of the adaptive filter is subtracted from the output of the indirect-sound collecting microphone. The output of the subtractor is then applied to the signal processing circuit associated with the indirect-sound collecting microphone for signal processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 1991
    Date of Patent: August 3, 1993
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akihisa Kawamura, Mitsuhiko Serikawa, Masaharu Matsumoto, Hiroko Numazu, Katsuaki Sato