Patents by Inventor Mark S. Vinton

Mark S. Vinton 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).

  • Publication number: 20150243295
    Abstract: A method for reconstructing an audio signal having a baseband portion and a highband portion is disclosed. The method includes decoding an encoded audio signal to obtain a decoded baseband audio signal, filtering the decoded baseband audio signal to obtain subband signals, and generating a high-frequency reconstructed signal by copying a number of consecutive subband signals. The method also includes adjusting a spectral envelope of the high-frequency reconstructed signal based on an estimated spectral envelope of the highband portion extracted from the encoded audio signal to obtain an envelope adjusted high-frequency signal, generating a noise component based on a noise parameter extracted from the encoded audio signal, and adding the noise component to the envelope adjusted high-frequency signal to obtain a noise and envelope adjusted high-frequency signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 11, 2015
    Publication date: August 27, 2015
    Applicant: DOLBY LABORATORIES LICENSING CORPORATION
    Inventors: Michael M. Truman, Mark S. Vinton
  • Publication number: 20150179182
    Abstract: A method including steps of decoding an encoded audio signal indicative of encoded audio content (e.g., audio content captured during a teleconference) to generate a decoded signal indicative of a decoded version of the audio content, and performing adaptive quantization noise filtering on the decoded signal. The filtering is performed adaptively in the frequency domain in response to data indicative of signal to noise values in turn indicative of a post-quantization signal-to-quantization noise ratio for each frequency band of each of at least one segment of the encoded audio content. In some embodiments, each signal to noise value is a bit allocation value equal to the number of mantissa bits of an encoded audio sample of a frequency band of a segment of the encoded audio content. Other aspects are decoder, or post-filter coupled to receive a decoder's output, configured to perform an embodiment of the adaptive filtering.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2014
    Publication date: June 25, 2015
    Applicant: DOLBY LABORATORIES LICENSING CORPORATION
    Inventor: Mark S. Vinton
  • Publication number: 20150025896
    Abstract: An audio communication endpoint receives a bitstream containing spectral components representing spectral content of an audio signal, wherein the spectral components relate to a first range extending up to a first break frequency, above which any spectral components are unassigned. The endpoint adapts the received bitstream in accordance with a second range extending up to a second break frequency by removing spectral components or adding neutral-valued spectral components relating to a range between the first and second break frequencies. The endpoint then attenuates spectral content in a neighbourhood of the least of the first and second break frequencies for thereby achieving a gradual spectral decay. After this, reconstructing the audio signal is reconstructed by an inverse transform operating on spectral components relating to said second range in the adapted and attenuated received bitstream. At small computational expense, the endpoint may to adapt to different sample rates in received bitstreams.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 21, 2013
    Publication date: January 22, 2015
    Inventors: Heiko Purnhagen, Leif Sehlstrom, Lars Villemoes, Glenn N. Dickins, Mark S. Vinton
  • Publication number: 20140358554
    Abstract: In a class of embodiments, an audio encoding system (typically, a perceptual encoding system that is configured to generate a single (“unified”) bitstream that is compatible with (i.e., decodable by) a first decoder configured to decode audio data encoded in accordance with a first encoding protocol (e.g., the multichannel Dolby Digital Plus, or DD+, protocol) and a second decoder configured to decode audio data encoded in accordance with a second encoding protocol (e.g., the stereo AAC, HE AAC v1, or HE AAC v2 protocol). The unified bitstream can include both encoded data (e.g., bursts of data) decodable by the first decoder (and ignored by the second decoder) and encoded data (e.g., other bursts of data) decodable by the second decoder (and ignored by the first decoder).
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2012
    Publication date: December 4, 2014
    Applicants: DOLBY INTERNATIONAL AB, DOLBY LABORATTORIES LICENSING CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jeffrey C. Riedmiller, Farhad Farahani, Michael Schug, Regunathan Radhakrishnan, Mark S. Vinton
  • Patent number: 8885836
    Abstract: An improved decorrelator is disclosed that processes an input audio signal in two separate paths. In one path, a banded phase-flip filter is applied to lower frequencies of the input audio signal. In a second path, a frequency-dependent delay is applied to higher frequencies of the input audio signal. Signals from the two paths are combined to obtain an output signal that is psychoacoustically decorrelated with the input audio signal. The decorrelated signal can be mixed with the input audio signal without generating audible artifacts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation
    Inventors: David S. McGrath, Mark S. Vinton
  • Publication number: 20140324441
    Abstract: A method for determining mantissa bit allocation of audio data values of frequency domain audio data to be encoded. The allocation method includes a step of determining masking values for the audio data values, including by performing adaptive low frequency compensation on the audio data of each frequency band of a set of low frequency bands of the audio data. The adaptive low frequency compensation includes steps of: performing tonality detection on the audio data to generate compensation control data indicative of whether each frequency band in the set of low frequency bands has prominent tonal content; and performing low frequency compensation on the audio data in each frequency band in the set of low frequency bands having prominent tonal content as indicated by the compensation control data, but not performing low frequency compensation on the audio data in any other frequency band in the set of low frequency bands.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 7, 2014
    Publication date: October 30, 2014
    Applicants: DOLBY INTERNATIONAL AB, DOLBY LABORATORIES LICENSING CORPORATION
    Inventors: Arijit BISWAS, Vinay MELKOTE, Michael SCHUG, Grant A. DAVIDSON, Mark S. VINTON
  • Publication number: 20140214431
    Abstract: A transmitter in an audio coding system generates an encoded audio signal that conveys a losslessly encoded representation of an audio signal at a first sample rate and losslessly encoded representations of related audio information at other sample rates. A companion receiver with limited computational resources can generate a high-quality output audio signal at a desired sample rate by losslessly decoding the encoded representation of the audio signal and possibly other portions of the encoded audio signal as needed to obtain an output signal at one of the other sample rates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2012
    Publication date: July 31, 2014
    Applicant: DOLBY LABORATORIES LICENSING CORPORATION
    Inventors: Mark S. Vinton, Charles Q. Robinson
  • Publication number: 20140126745
    Abstract: A system, a method, logic embodied in a computer-readable medium, and a computer-readable medium comprising instructions that when executed carry out a method. The method processes: (a) a plurality of input signals, e.g., signals from a plurality of spatially separated microphones; and, for echo suppression, (b) one or more reference signals, e.g., signals from or to be rendered by one or more loudspeakers and that can cause echoes. The method processes the input signals and one or more reference signals to carry out in an integrated manner simultaneous noise suppression and out-of-location signal suppression, and in some versions, echo suppression.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 9, 2013
    Publication date: May 8, 2014
    Applicant: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation
    Inventors: Glenn N. Dickins, Timothy J. Neal, Mark S. Vinton
  • Publication number: 20130179175
    Abstract: A method for determining mantissa bit allocation of frequency domain audio data to be encoded, including by performing adaptive low frequency compensation on each frequency band of a set of low frequency bands of the data. The low frequency compensation includes steps of: performing tonality detection on the audio data to generate compensation control data indicative of whether each frequency band in the set has prominent tonal content; and performing low frequency compensation on each frequency band in the set having prominent tonal content, including by correcting a preliminary masking value for each frequency band having prominent tonal content, but not performing low frequency compensation on the audio data in any other frequency band in the set. Other aspects are audio encoding methods including such tonality detection and low frequency compensation steps, and a system configured to perform any embodiment of the inventive method.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 17, 2012
    Publication date: July 11, 2013
    Applicant: DOLBY LABORATORIES LICENSING CORPORATION
    Inventors: Arijit Biswas, Vinay Melkote, Michael Schug, Grant A. Davidson, Mark S. Vinton
  • Publication number: 20120128159
    Abstract: An improved decorrelator is disclosed that processes an input audio signal in two separate paths. In one path, a banded phase-flip filter is applied to lower frequencies of the input audio signal. In a second path, a frequency-dependent delay is applied to higher frequencies of the input audio signal. Signals from the two paths are combined to obtain an output signal that is psychoacoustically decorrelated with the input audio signal. The decorrelated signal can be mixed with the input audio signal without generating audible artifacts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2009
    Publication date: May 24, 2012
    Applicant: DOLBY LABORATORIES LICENSING CORPORATION
    Inventors: David S. McGrath, Mark S. Vinton
  • Patent number: 7136418
    Abstract: A method and system for encoding and decoding an input signal in relation to the most perceptually relevant aspects of the input signal. A two-dimensional (2D) transform is applied to the input signal to produce a magnitude matrix and a phase matrix that can be inverse quantized by a decoder. A first column of coefficients of the magnitude matrix represents a mean spectral density (MSD) function of the input signal. Relevant aspects of the MSD function are encoded at a beginning of a data packet. The MSD function is also processed through a core perception model to determine bit allocation. The matrices are then quantized and priority ordered into a data packet, with the least perceptually relevant information at the end of the packet so that it may be ignored or truncated for scalability to the channel data rate capacity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2006
    Assignee: University of Washington
    Inventors: Les E. Atlas, Mark S. Vinton
  • Publication number: 20020176353
    Abstract: A method and system for encoding and decoding an input signal in relation to the most perceptually relevant aspects of the input signal. A two-dimensional (2D) transform is applied to the input signal to produce a magnitude matrix and a phase matrix that can be inverse quantized by a decoder. A first column of coefficients of the magnitude matrix represents a mean spectral density (MSD) function of the input signal. Relevant aspects of the MSD function are encoded at a beginning of a data packet. The MSD function is also processed through a core perception model to determine bit allocation. The matrices are then quantized and priority ordered into a data packet, with the least perceptually relevant information at the end of the packet so that it may be ignored or truncated for scalability to the channel data rate capacity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 22, 2001
    Publication date: November 28, 2002
    Applicant: University of Washington
    Inventors: Les E. Atlas, Mark S. Vinton