Patents by Inventor Martin Heckmann

Martin Heckmann 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: 8185382
    Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides a post-processing method of a modulation envelope resulting from an interference of two harmonics in a filter band. According to one embodiment, the method comprising filtering the modulation envelope with a band-pass filter bank, wherein a combination of demodulation and application of the band-pass filter on the modulation envelope enables use of identical techniques for resolved and unresolved harmonics. One embodiment of the present invention provides a method of determining whether a frequency band of an input signal includes unresolved harmonics. According to a further embodiment, in response to a determination that the frequency band includes unresolved harmonics, the method comprises obtaining a modulation envelope of the frequency band by demodulating the frequency band, obtaining one or more frequency bands from the modulation envelope, and determining an evidence value that one of the frequency bands originates from one of fundamental frequencies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2012
    Assignee: Honda Research Institute Europe GmbH
    Inventors: Frank Joublin, Martin Heckmann
  • Patent number: 8150062
    Abstract: A method for sound source localization comprises the steps of computing an envelope of a signal; performing a non-linear, onset preserving smoothing of the envelope; and evaluating cues for sound source localization, using the points where the smoothing changes from its rising phase to its falling phase as measurement points.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: Honda Research Institute Europe GmbH
    Inventors: Frank Joublin, Martin Heckmann
  • Patent number: 8141460
    Abstract: A ratcheting wrench having ratchet structure, a ratchet body, a socket wheel, a plurality of ratchet teeth and at least one pawl. The ratchet body is received into the ratchet structure and is rotatable about a first axis. The socket wheel is received in an aperture in the ratchet body and includes a plurality of tool members that are spaced circumferentially apart from one another about a second axis that intersects the first axis but is not coincident with the first axis. The ratchet teeth and the at least one pawl cooperate to control relative rotation between the ratchet structure and the ratchet body about the first axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2012
    Assignee: Black & Decker Inc.
    Inventors: Robert J. B. Hobden, Jamie S. Munn, Martin Heckmann, Corey D. MacTavish, William G. Harman, Jr., David C. Campbell, Gregory R. Keier
  • Patent number: 8108164
    Abstract: Techniques are provided for determining the time course of the fundamental frequency of harmonic signals, wherein the input signal is split into different frequency channels by band pass filters. Distances between crossings of different orders are determined, and a histogram of all these distance values for each instant in time is calculated. The distance values build a peak at the distance corresponding to the fundamental frequency. An example application of this technique is separation of acoustic sound sources in monaural recordings based on their underlying fundamental frequency. Application of these techniques, however, is not limited to the field of acoustics. These techniques can also be applied to other signals such as those originating from pressure sensors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2012
    Assignee: Honda Research Institute Europe GmbH
    Inventors: Frank Joublin, Martin Heckmann
  • Patent number: 8050910
    Abstract: The fundamental frequency of a harmonic signal is estimated by forming a fundamental frequency hypothesis (f0?). A comb filter is provided based on the fundamental frequency hypothesis. The harmonic signal is filtered using the comb filter. The fundamental frequency hypothesis is tested for each tooth in the comb filter. A signal indicating an estimated fundamental frequency of the provided harmonic signal may be outputted based on the testing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2011
    Assignee: Honda Research Institute Europe GmbH
    Inventors: Frank Joublin, Martin Heckmann
  • Publication number: 20110239828
    Abstract: A ratcheting wrench having ratchet structure, a ratchet body, a socket wheel, and a ratchet clutch. The ratchet body is received into the ratchet structure and is rotatable about a first axis. The socket wheel is received in an aperture in the ratchet body and includes a plurality of tool members that are spaced circumferentially apart from one another about a second axis that intersects the first axis but is not coincident with the first axis. The ratchet clutch is configured to control relative rotation between the ratchet structure and the ratchet body about the first axis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 27, 2010
    Publication date: October 6, 2011
    Inventors: Robert J.B. Hobden, Jamie S. Munn, Martin Heckmann, Corey D. MacTavish, William G. Harman, JR., David C. Campbell, Gregory R. Krier
  • Publication number: 20110239829
    Abstract: A ratcheting wrench having ratchet structure, a ratchet body, a socket wheel, a plurality of ratchet teeth and at least one pawl. The ratchet body is received into the ratchet structure and is rotatable about a first axis. The socket wheel is received in an aperture in the ratchet body and includes a plurality of tool members that are spaced circumferentially apart from one another about a second axis that intersects the first axis but is not coincident with the first axis. The ratchet teeth and the at least one pawl cooperate to control relative rotation between the ratchet structure and the ratchet body about the first axis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2011
    Publication date: October 6, 2011
    Inventors: Robert J.B. Hobden, Jamie S. Munn, Martin Heckmann, Corey D. MacTavish, William G. Harman, JR., David C. Campbell, Gregory R. Keier
  • Patent number: 7966912
    Abstract: A ratcheting wrench having ratchet structure, a ratchet body, a socket wheel, a plurality of ratchet teeth and at least one pawl. The ratchet body is received into the ratchet structure and is rotatable about a first axis. The socket wheel is received in an aperture in the ratchet body and includes a plurality of tool members that are spaced circumferentially apart from one another about a second axis that intersects the first axis but is not coincident with the first axis. The ratchet teeth and the at least one pawl cooperate to control relative rotation between the ratchet structure and the ratchet body about the first axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2011
    Assignee: Black & Decker Inc.
    Inventors: Robert J. B. Hobden, Jamie S. Munn, Martin Heckmann, Corey D. MacTavish, William G. Harman, Jr., David C. Campbell
  • Patent number: 7895033
    Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides a method of determining an evidence value capturing whether two band-pass signals are harmonics of a common fundamental frequency. A further embodiment of the present invention evaluates the distance between significant points of a signal such as a sinusoidal signal. One embodiment of the present invention provides a method of determining whether two or more band-pass signals are harmonics of a fundamental frequency, comprising evaluating a first distance between a first set of two or more significant points of a first band-pass signal, evaluating a second distance between a second set of two or more significant points of a second band-pass signal, and comparing the first distance to the second distance to determine whether the first and second signals are harmonics of the fundamental frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2011
    Assignee: Honda Research Institute Europe GmbH
    Inventors: Frank Joublin, Martin Heckmann
  • Patent number: 7881926
    Abstract: The invention relates to the field of automated processing of speech signals and particularly to a method for tracking the formant frequencies in a speech signal, comprising the steps of: obtaining an auditory image of the speech signal; sequentially estimating formant locations; segmenting the frequency range into sub-regions; smoothing the obtained component filtering distributions; and calculating exact formant locations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2011
    Assignee: Honda Research Institute Europe GmbH
    Inventors: Frank Joublin, Martin Heckmann, Claudius Glaeser
  • Patent number: 7453963
    Abstract: A common problem in audio processing is that a useful signal is disturbed by one or more sinusoidal noises that should be suppressed. One embodiment of the invention provides a method of canceling a sinusoidal disturbance of unknown frequency in a disturbed useful signal. The method comprises the steps of estimating parameters of the sinusoidal disturbance including amplitude, phase and frequency; generating a reference signal on the basis of the estimated parameters; and subtracting the reference signal from the disturbed useful signal. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the estimation is performed by an Extended Kalman filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2008
    Assignee: Honda Research Institute Europe GmbH
    Inventors: Frank Joublin, Martin Heckmann, Björn Schölling
  • Publication number: 20080234959
    Abstract: The fundamental frequency of a harmonic signal is estimated by forming a fundamental frequency hypothesis (f0?). A comb filter is provided based on the fundamental frequency hypothesis. The harmonic signal is filtered using the comb filter. The fundamental frequency hypothesis is tested for each tooth in the comb filter. A signal indicating an estimated fundamental frequency of the provided harmonic signal may be outputted based on the testing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2008
    Publication date: September 25, 2008
    Applicant: HONDA RESEARCH INSTITUTE EUROPE GMBH
    Inventors: Frank Joublin, Martin Heckmann
  • Publication number: 20080082322
    Abstract: The invention relates to the field of automated processing of speech signals and particularly to a method for tracking the formant frequencies in a speech signal, comprising the steps of: obtaining an auditory image of the speech signal; sequentially estimating formant locations; segmenting the frequency range into sub-regions; smoothing the obtained component filtering distributions; and calculating exact formant locations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2007
    Publication date: April 3, 2008
    Applicant: Honda Research Institute Europe GmbH
    Inventors: Frank Joublin, Martin Heckmann, Claudius Glaeser
  • Publication number: 20070160241
    Abstract: A method for sound source localization comprises the steps of computing an envelope of a signal; performing a non-linear, onset preserving smoothing of the envelope; and evaluating cues for sound source localization, using the points where the smoothing changes from its rising phase to its falling phase as measurement points.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 4, 2007
    Publication date: July 12, 2007
    Inventors: Frank Joublin, Martin Heckmann
  • Publication number: 20060195500
    Abstract: Techniques are provided for determining the time course of the fundamental frequency of harmonic signals, wherein the input signal is split into different frequency channels by band pass filters. Distances between crossings of different orders are determined, and a histogram of all these distance values for each instant in time is calculated. The distance values build a peak at the distance corresponding to the fundamental frequency. An example application of this technique is separation of acoustic sound sources in monaural recordings based on their underlying fundamental frequency. Application of these techniques, however, is not limited to the field of acoustics. These techniques can also be applied to other signals such as those originating from pressure sensors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2006
    Publication date: August 31, 2006
    Inventors: Frank Joublin, Martin Heckmann
  • Publication number: 20060009968
    Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides a post-processing method of a modulation envelope resulting from an interference of two harmonics in a filter band. According to one embodiment, the method comprising filtering the modulation envelope with a band-pass filter bank, wherein a combination of demodulation and application of the band-pass filter on the modulation envelope enables use of identical techniques for resolved and unresolved harmonics. One embodiment of the present invention provides a method of determining whether a frequency band of an input signal includes unresolved harmonics. According to a further embodiment, in response to a determination that the frequency band includes unresolved harmonics, the method comprises obtaining a modulation envelope of the frequency band by demodulating the frequency band, obtaining one or more frequency bands from the modulation envelope, and determining an evidence value that one of the frequency bands originates from one of fundamental frequencies.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 31, 2005
    Publication date: January 12, 2006
    Inventors: Frank Joublin, Martin Heckmann
  • Publication number: 20050278173
    Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention provides a method of determining an evidence value capturing whether two band-pass signals are harmonics of a common fundamental frequency. A further embodiment of the present invention evaluates the distance between significant points of a signal such as a sinusoidal signal. One embodiment of the present invention provides a method of determining whether two or more band-pass signals are harmonics of a fundamental frequency, comprising evaluating a first distance between a first set of two or more significant points of a first band-pass signal, evaluating a second distance between a second set of two or more significant points of a second band-pass signal, and comparing the first distance to the second distance to determine whether the first and second signals are harmonics of the fundamental frequency.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 31, 2005
    Publication date: December 15, 2005
    Inventors: Frank Joublin, Martin Heckmann
  • Publication number: 20050276363
    Abstract: A common problem in audio processing is that a useful signal is disturbed by one or more sinusoidal noises that should be suppressed. One embodiment of the invention provides a method of canceling a sinusoidal disturbance of unknown frequency in a disturbed useful signal. The method comprises the steps of estimating parameters of the sinusoidal disturbance including amplitude, phase and frequency; generating a reference signal on the basis of the estimated parameters; and subtracting the reference signal from the disturbed useful signal. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the estimation is performed by an Extended Kalman filter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2005
    Publication date: December 15, 2005
    Inventors: Frank Joublin, Martin Heckmann, Bjorn Scholling