Patents by Inventor Kazunobu Ohkuri

Kazunobu Ohkuri 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: 9595252
    Abstract: A noise reduction audio reproducing method includes the steps of: generating, from an audio signal of collected and obtained noise, an audio signal for noise cancellation to cancel the noise by synthesizing the audio signal for noise cancellation and the noise in an acoustic manner, reproducing the audio signal for noise cancellation acoustically to synthesize this with the noise in an acoustic manner; emphasizing an audio component to be listened to, of collected audio; synthesizing an audio signal with the audio component to be listened to being emphasized, and the audio signal for noise cancellation to supply the synthesized signal thereof to an electro-acoustic converting unit; and controlling so as to supply an audio signal, with the audio component to be listened to having been emphasized, to a synthesizing unit, regarding only a section based on a control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2017
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Kohei Asada, Shiro Suzuki, Tetsunori Itabashi, Kazunobu Ohkuri
  • Publication number: 20160086594
    Abstract: A noise reduction audio reproducing method includes the steps of: generating, from an audio signal of collected and obtained noise, an audio signal for noise cancellation to cancel the noise by synthesizing the audio signal for noise cancellation and the noise in an acoustic manner, reproducing the audio signal for noise cancellation acoustically to synthesize this with the noise in an acoustic manner; emphasizing an audio component to be listened to, of collected audio; synthesizing an audio signal with the audio component to be listened to being emphasized, and the audio signal for noise cancellation to supply the synthesized signal thereof to an electro-acoustic converting unit; and controlling so as to supply an audio signal, with the audio component to be listened to having been emphasized, to a synthesizing unit, regarding only a section based on a control signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 4, 2015
    Publication date: March 24, 2016
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Kohei Asada, Shiro Suzuki, Tetsunori ltabashi, Kazunobu Ohkuri
  • Patent number: 9245517
    Abstract: A noise reduction audio reproducing method includes the steps of: generating, from an audio signal of collected and obtained noise, an audio signal for noise cancellation to cancel the noise by synthesizing the audio signal for noise cancellation and the noise in an acoustic manner, reproducing the audio signal for noise cancellation acoustically to synthesize this with the noise in an acoustic manner; emphasizing an audio component to be listened to, of collected audio; synthesizing an audio signal with the audio component to be listened to being emphasized, and the audio signal for noise cancellation to supply the synthesized signal thereof to an electro-acoustic converting unit; and controlling so as to supply an audio signal, with the audio component to be listened to having been emphasized, to a synthesizing unit, regarding only a section based on a control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Kohei Asada, Shiro Suzuki, Tetsunori Itabashi, Kazunobu Ohkuri
  • Patent number: 8792653
    Abstract: A signal processing apparatus includes a first audio output unit configured to output audio of a first audio signal input from a first signal input line, a first pickup unit connected to the first signal input line, a second audio output unit configured to output audio of a second audio signal input from a second signal input line, a second pickup unit connected to the second signal input line, a connecting line that connects the above units to ground, and a first reducing unit configured to at least reduce a first sound leakage signal, being the first audio signal leaking into the second signal input line from the first audio output unit, by using the first audio signal, or reducing a second sound leakage signal, being the second audio signal leaking into the second signal input line from the second audio output unit, by using the second audio signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2014
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Shiro Suzuki, Kazunobu Ohkuri
  • Patent number: 8761406
    Abstract: An audio signal processing device includes: a microphone configured to collect noise; an analyzing unit configured to analyze an audio signal collected by the microphone to detect the level and frequency property of the collected audio signal; and a signal processing unit configured to subject an audio signal to be reproduced to signal processing based on the analysis results of the analyzing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Kazunobu Ohkuri, Kohei Asada, Shiro Suzuki, Tetsunori Itabashi, Hiroki Kawanishi
  • Patent number: 8737642
    Abstract: An audio signal processing apparatus and method for extracting components from an input signal, generating additional components, combining components, and level-controlling components. An audio signal processing apparatus may include a harmonic overtone adder and an equalizer. A harmonic overtone adder may include a high-pass filter, a low-pass filter, an harmonic overtone generator, and a combining unit. An equalizer may include a level detector and a gain controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2014
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Masaru Shimura, Taro Nakagami, Kazunobu Ohkuri
  • Patent number: 8204239
    Abstract: Samples of a component having a frequency less than a predetermined frequency in an input audio signal that is a digital signal having a predetermined sampling frequency are written in a memory. A harmonic-overtone signal having a frequency N times a frequency of the input audio signal is generated by repeating an operation N times, where N is an integer more than one, the operation including reading one sample and thinning out (N?1) samples for every N samples from the memory within each cycle period from a first one-direction zero-crossing point to a second one-direction zero-crossing point subsequent to the first one-direction zero-crossing point, each one-direction zero-crossing point being a point at which a level of the input audio signal changes from negative to positive or a point at which the level of the input audio signal changes from positive to negative.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Masaru Shimura, Kazunobu Ohkuri, Taro Nakagami
  • Publication number: 20120140952
    Abstract: An audio signal processing apparatus and method for extracting components from an input signal, generating additional components, combining components, and level-controlling components. An audio signal processing apparatus may include a harmonic overtone adder and an equalizer. A harmonic overtone adder may include a high-pass filter, a low-pass filter, an harmonic overtone generator, and a combining unit. An equalizer may include a level detector and a gain controller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2011
    Publication date: June 7, 2012
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Masaru Shimura, Taro Nakagami, Kazunobu Ohkuri
  • Patent number: 8150067
    Abstract: If the absolute value of the current sample is greater than or equal to an envelope value at the immediately preceding sample, an envelope value at the current sample is made greater than the envelope value at the immediately preceding sample. If the absolute value of the current sample is smaller than the envelope value at the immediately preceding sample and a count value C does not reach a predetermined number N, the count value C is incremented by one and the envelope value at the current sample is held at the envelope value at the immediately preceding sample. If the absolute value of the current sample is smaller than the envelope value at the immediately preceding sample and the count value C reaches the predetermined number N, the envelope value at the current sample is made smaller than the envelope value at the immediately preceding sample.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Kazunobu Ohkuri, Taro Nakagami, Masaru Shimura
  • Publication number: 20120057723
    Abstract: A signal processing apparatus includes a first audio output unit configured to output audio of a first audio signal input from a first signal input line, a first pickup unit connected to the first signal input line, a second audio output unit configured to output audio of a second audio signal input from a second signal input line, a second pickup unit connected to the second signal input line, a connecting line that connects the above units to ground, and a first reducing unit configured to at least reduce a first sound leakage signal, being the first audio signal leaking into the second signal input line from the first audio output unit, by using the first audio signal, or reducing a second sound leakage signal, being the second audio signal leaking into the second signal input line from the second audio output unit, by using the second audio signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 11, 2011
    Publication date: March 8, 2012
    Inventors: Shiro SUZUKI, Kazunobu OHKURI
  • Patent number: 8094046
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a signal processing apparatus including: a first decimation processing section for generating, based on a digital signal in a first form, a digital signal in a second form; a second decimation processing section for generating, based on the digital signal in the second form, a digital signal in a third form; a first signal processing section for processing the digital signal in the third form; an interpolation processing section for converting a digital signal in the third form outputted from the first signal processing section into a digital signal in the second form; a second signal processing section for processing the digital signal in the second form outputted from the first decimation processing section; and a combining section for combining the digital signals in the second form outputted from the interpolation processing section and the second signal processing section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Kohei Asada, Tetsunori Itabashi, Kazunobu Ohkuri
  • Patent number: 8094835
    Abstract: A signal processing apparatus includes first and second extracting units extracting frequency components having a first frequency band and a second frequency band, respectively, from an input audio signal, a first-harmonic-component generating unit generating a first-harmonic-component signal including a frequency component whose frequency is N1 times that of the frequency component extracted in the first extracting unit, a second-harmonic-component generating unit generating a second-harmonic-component signal including a frequency component whose frequency is N2 times that of the frequency component extracted in the second extracting unit, and a combining unit combining the input audio signal, and the first- and the second-harmonic-component signals in a predetermined ratio. The first frequency band is higher than the second frequency band. N1 and N2 are positive integers, and N1 is smaller than N2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Masaru Shimura, Taro Nakagami, Kazunobu Ohkuri
  • Patent number: 8077882
    Abstract: An audio signal processing apparatus includes a harmonic overtone adder and an equalizer. The harmonic overtone adder includes a high-pass filter for extracting from an audio signal higher than a first predetermined frequency, a filter for extracting a frequency component lower than half a second predetermined frequency, an harmonic overtone generator for generating a frequency-doubled harmonic overtone component from an output from the filter, and a first combining unit for combining the frequency component output from the high-pass filter and the harmonic overtone component output from the harmonic overtone generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2011
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Masaru Shimura, Taro Nakagami, Kazunobu Ohkuri
  • Patent number: 8000824
    Abstract: An audio signal processing apparatus includes a high-pass filter for extracting from an audio signal a frequency component higher than f0, n band-pass filters for extracting, from the audio signal, frequency components falling within a frequency range from f0/N to f1/N, n harmonic overtone generators for frequency multiplying each of outputs of the n band-pass filters by N, a first combining unit for combining the generated harmonic overtone components, a level detector for detecting a level of a supplied harmonic overtone component, a gain controller for controlling dynamically the harmonic overtone component supplied from the first combining unit, and a second combining unit for combining the frequency component extracted by the high-pass filter and a harmonic overtone component output from the gain controller, where N is (n being a natural number), f0 is a first predetermined frequency, and f1 is a second predetermined frequency higher than f0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2011
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Masaru Shimura, Taro Nakagami, Kazunobu Ohkuri
  • Publication number: 20100318205
    Abstract: A signal processing apparatus includes: analog-to-digital conversion means that receives an analog detection signal acquired by detecting a movement of a diaphragm of a speaker, converts it into a digital signal by performing a first delta sigma modulation process, and outputs the digital signal; signal processing means that receives the digital detection signal output, generates a digital feedback signal, and outputs the digital feedback signal; synthesis means that converts an input digital audio signal to have a same sampling frequency as the feedback signal and then combines the input digital audio signal with the feedback signal as negative feedback; and digital-to-analog conversion means having a portion for a second delta sigma modulation process in which the digital audio signal after combination with the feedback signal is input, and the digital audio signal is converted into a digital signal and performing conversion of the digital audio signal into an analog signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2010
    Publication date: December 16, 2010
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Kazunobu Ohkuri, Kohei Asada, Michiaki Yoneda, Tetsunori Itabashi
  • Publication number: 20090323976
    Abstract: A noise reduction audio reproducing method includes the steps of: generating, from an audio signal of collected and obtained noise, an audio signal for noise cancellation to cancel the noise by synthesizing the audio signal for noise cancellation and the noise in an acoustic manner, reproducing the audio signal for noise cancellation acoustically to synthesize this with the noise in an acoustic manner; emphasizing an audio component to be listened to, of collected audio; synthesizing an audio signal with the audio component to be listened to being emphasized, and the audio signal for noise cancellation to supply the synthesized signal thereof to an electro-acoustic converting unit; and controlling so as to supply an audio signal, with the audio component to be listened to having been emphasized, to a synthesizing unit, regarding only a section based on a control signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 17, 2009
    Publication date: December 31, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Kohei Asada, Shiro Suzuki, Tetsunori Itabashi, Kazunobu Ohkuri
  • Publication number: 20090310793
    Abstract: An audio signal processing device includes: a microphone configured to collect noise; an analyzing unit configured to analyze an audio signal collected by the microphone to detect the level and frequency property of the collected audio signal; and a signal processing unit configured to subject an audio signal to be reproduced to signal processing based on the analysis results of the analyzing unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 16, 2009
    Publication date: December 17, 2009
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Kazunobu Ohkuri, Kohei Asada, Shiro Suzuki, Tetsunori Itabashi, Hiroki Kawanishi
  • Patent number: 7592941
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a signal processing apparatus including: analog-to-digital conversion means for performing delta sigma modulation of generating a digital signal having a predetermined sampling frequency and a predetermined quantization bit rate of one or more bits based on an input analog signal; signal processing means including a digital filter having a characteristic for outputting a digital signal having a sampling frequency n×Fs (Fs is a reference sampling frequency) and a quantization bit rate of a bits (a is a natural number greater than one) based on the above digital signal; and digital-to-analog conversion means including a part for performing delta sigma modulation for outputting a digital signal having a sampling frequency n×Fs and a quantization bit rate of b bits (b is a natural number greater than zero and less than a) based on a digital signal outputted from the signal processing means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2009
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Kazunobu Ohkuri, Kohei Asada, Ayataka Nishio
  • Publication number: 20080292114
    Abstract: An audio signal processing apparatus includes a harmonic overtone adder and an equalizer. The harmonic overtone adder includes a high-pass filter for extracting from an audio signal higher than a first predetermined frequency, a filter for extracting a frequency component lower than half a second predetermined frequency, an harmonic overtone generator for generating a frequency-doubled harmonic overtone component from an output from the filter, and a first combining unit for combining the frequency component output from the high-pass filter and the harmonic overtone component output from the harmonic overtone generator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2007
    Publication date: November 27, 2008
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Masaru Shimura, Taro Nakagami, Kazunobu Ohkuri
  • Publication number: 20080273718
    Abstract: If the absolute value of the current sample is greater than or equal to an envelope value at the immediately preceding sample, an envelope value at the current sample is made greater than the envelope value at the immediately preceding sample. If the absolute value of the current sample is smaller than the envelope value at the immediately preceding sample and a count value C does not reach a predetermined number N, the count value C is incremented by one and the envelope value at the current sample is held at the envelope value at the immediately preceding sample. If the absolute value of the current sample is smaller than the envelope value at the immediately preceding sample and the count value C reaches the predetermined number N, the envelope value at the current sample is made smaller than the envelope value at the immediately preceding sample.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2008
    Publication date: November 6, 2008
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Kazunobu Ohkuri, Taro Nakagami, Masaru Shimura