Patents by Inventor Minoru Tsuji

Minoru Tsuji 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: 20230154477
    Abstract: The present technology relates to a signal processing device and method, and a program making it possible to reduce the computational complexity of decoding at low cost. A signal processing device includes: a priority information generation unit configured to generate priority information about an audio object on the basis of a plurality of elements expressing a feature of the audio object. The present technology may be applied to an encoding device and a decoding device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2023
    Publication date: May 18, 2023
    Applicant: Sony Group Corporation
    Inventors: Yuki Yamamoto, Toru Chinen, Minoru Tsuji
  • Publication number: 20230126927
    Abstract: The present technology relates to a signal processing device, method, and program that can improve encoding efficiency. A signal processing device includes: an acquisition unit that acquires reverb information including at least one of space reverb information specific to a space around an audio object or object reverb information specific to the audio object and an audio object signal of the audio object; and a reverb processing unit that generates a signal of a reverb component of the audio object on the basis of the reverb information and the audio object signal. The present technology can be applied to a signal processing device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 23, 2022
    Publication date: April 27, 2023
    Applicant: Sony Group Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroyuki Honma, Minoru Tsuji, Toru Chinen
  • Publication number: 20230078121
    Abstract: The present technology relates to an audio processing apparatus and method and a program that make it possible to obtain sound of higher quality. An acquisition unit acquires an audio signal and metadata of an object. A vector calculation unit calculates, based on a horizontal direction angle and a vertical direction angle included in the metadata of the object and indicative of an extent of a sound image, a spread vector indicative of a position in a region indicative of the extent of the sound image. A gain calculation unit calculates, based on the spread vector, a VBAP gain of the audio signal in regard to each speaker by VBAP. The present technology can be applied to an audio processing apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2022
    Publication date: March 16, 2023
    Applicant: Sony Group Corporation
    Inventors: Yuki Yamamoto, Toru Chinen, Minoru Tsuji
  • Publication number: 20230056690
    Abstract: The present technology relates to an encoding device and method, a decoding device and method, and a program capable of realizing sense-of-distance control based on intention of a content creator. The encoding device includes: an object encoding unit that encodes audio data of an object; a metadata encoding unit that encodes metadata including position information of the object; a sense-of-distance control information determination unit that determines sense-of-distance control information for sense-of-distance control processing to be performed on the audio data; a sense-of-distance control information encoding unit that encodes the sense-of-distance control information; and a multiplexer that multiplexes the coded audio data, the coded metadata, and the coded sense-of-distance control information to generate coded data. The present technology can be applied to a content reproduction system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 25, 2020
    Publication date: February 23, 2023
    Applicant: Sony Group Corporation
    Inventors: Minoru Tsuji, Toru Chinen
  • Patent number: 11574644
    Abstract: The present technology relates to a signal processing device and method, and a program making it possible to reduce the computational complexity of decoding at low cost. A signal processing device includes: a priority information generation unit configured to generate priority information about an audio object on the basis of a plurality of elements expressing a feature of the audio object. The present technology may be applied to an encoding device and a decoding device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Yuki Yamamoto, Toru Chinen, Minoru Tsuji
  • Publication number: 20230007423
    Abstract: The present technology relates to a signal processing device, a method, and a program capable of improving transmission efficiency and efficiency in the data processing amount. A signal processing device includes: an acquisition unit that acquires polar coordinate position information indicating a position of a first object expressed by polar coordinates, audio data of the first object, absolute coordinate position information indicating a position of a second object expressed by absolute coordinates, and audio data of the second object; a coordinate conversion unit that converts the absolute coordinate position information into polar coordinate position information indicating a position of the second object; and a rendering processing unit that performs rendering processing on the basis of the polar coordinate position information and the audio data of the first object and the polar coordinate position information and the audio data of the second object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2020
    Publication date: January 5, 2023
    Inventors: MITSUYUKI HATANAKA, TORU CHINEN, MINORU TSUJI
  • Patent number: 11540080
    Abstract: The present technology relates to an audio processing apparatus and method and a program that make it possible to obtain sound of higher quality. An acquisition unit acquires an audio signal and metadata of an object. A vector calculation unit calculates, based on a horizontal direction angle and a vertical direction angle included in the metadata of the object and indicative of an extent of a sound image, a spread vector indicative of a position in a region indicative of the extent of the sound image. A gain calculation unit calculates, based on the spread vector, a VBAP gain of the audio signal in regard to each speaker by VBAP. The present technology can be applied to an audio processing apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Yuki Yamamoto, Toru Chinen, Minoru Tsuji
  • Publication number: 20220394415
    Abstract: The present technology relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and a program that enable more efficient edit. The information processing apparatus includes a control unit that selects and groups a plurality of objects existing in a predetermined space, and changes the positions of the plurality of the objects while maintaining the relative positional relationship of the plurality of the grouped objects in the space. The present technology can be applied to information processing apparatuses.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 20, 2022
    Publication date: December 8, 2022
    Applicant: Sony Group Corporation
    Inventors: Minoru Tsuji, Toru Chinen, Mitsuyuki Hatanaka, Yuki Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20220256216
    Abstract: The present technology relates to an encoding device, an encoding method, a reproduction device, a reproduction method, and a program enabling each reproduction equipment to reproduce an appropriate content in a simplified manner. A content data decoding unit decodes encoded metadata and outputs zoom area information, which is included in metadata acquired as a result thereof, designating an area to be zoomed. A zoom area selecting unit selects one or a plurality of pieces of zoom area information from among the zoom area information. A video segmenting unit segments a zoom area represented by the selected zoom area information in a video based on video data and outputs zoom video data acquired as a result thereof. An audio converting unit performs an audio converting process according to the selected zoom area information for audio data and outputs zoom audio data acquired as a result thereof. The present technology can be applied to a reproduction device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2022
    Publication date: August 11, 2022
    Applicant: Sony Group Corporation
    Inventors: Minoru Tsuji, Toru Chinen, Runyu Shi, Masayuki Nishiguchi, Yuki Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20220210597
    Abstract: The present technology relates to an information processing device and method, a reproduction device and method, and a program that are capable of performing gain correction more easily. An information processing device includes a gain correction value decision unit that decides a correction value of a gain value for performing gain correction on an audio signal of an audio object in accordance with a direction of the audio object viewed from a listener. The present technology can be applied to a gain decision device and a reproduction device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2020
    Publication date: June 30, 2022
    Applicant: Sony Group Corporation
    Inventors: Minoru Tsuji, Toru Chinen, Yuki Yamamoto, Akihito Nakai
  • Patent number: 11368806
    Abstract: The present technology relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and a program that enable more efficient edit. The information processing apparatus includes a control unit that selects and groups a plurality of objects existing in a predetermined space, and changes the positions of the plurality of the objects while maintaining the relative positional relationship of the plurality of the grouped objects in the space. The present technology can be applied to information processing apparatuses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Minoru Tsuji, Toru Chinen, Mitsuyuki Hatanaka, Yuki Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20220159400
    Abstract: The present technology relates a reproduction apparatus, a reproduction method, an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program which can realize reproduction of highly flexible audio data while reflecting the intention of a content creator. A reproduction apparatus according to one aspect of the present technology acquires content including audio data of each of audio objects and rendering parameters of the audio data for each of a plurality of presumed listening positions, renders the audio data on the basis of the rendering parameters for a selected predetermined presumed listening position, and outputs an audio signal. The present technology can be applied to an apparatus that can reproduce object-based audio data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 1, 2022
    Publication date: May 19, 2022
    Inventors: MINORU TSUJI, TORU CHINEN, MITSUHIRO HIRABAYASHI, KEIICHI AOYAMA
  • Publication number: 20220148560
    Abstract: The present technology relates to a signal processing device, a signal processing method, and a program that enable implementation of more effective distance feeling control. The signal processing device includes a reverb processing unit that generates a signal of a reverb component on the basis of object audio data of an audio object and a reverb parameter for the audio object. The present technology can be applied to a signal processing device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2022
    Publication date: May 12, 2022
    Applicant: Sony Group Corporation
    Inventors: Minoru Tsuji, Toru Chinen, Takao Fukui, Mitsuyuki Hatanaka
  • Patent number: 11330310
    Abstract: The present technology relates to an encoding device, an encoding method, a reproduction device, a reproduction method, and a program enabling each reproduction equipment to reproduce an appropriate content in a simplified manner. A content data decoding unit decodes encoded metadata and outputs zoom area information, which is included in metadata acquired as a result thereof, designating an area to be zoomed. A zoom area selecting unit selects one or a plurality of pieces of zoom area information from among the zoom area information. A video segmenting unit segments a zoom area represented by the selected zoom area information in a video based on video data and outputs zoom video data acquired as a result thereof. An audio converting unit performs an audio converting process according to the selected zoom area information for audio data and outputs zoom audio data acquired as a result thereof. The present technology can be applied to a reproduction device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Minoru Tsuji, Toru Chinen, Runyu Shi, Masayuki Nishiguchi, Yuki Yamamoto
  • Publication number: 20220116732
    Abstract: The present technology relates to an information processing device, a method, and a program that enable easy production of 3D Audio content. The information processing device includes a determination unit that determines one or more parameters constituting the metadata of an object on the basis of one or more pieces of attribute information of the object. The present technology can be applied to information processing devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2019
    Publication date: April 14, 2022
    Inventors: Yuki Yamamoto, Toru CHINEN, Minoru TSUJI
  • Publication number: 20220086584
    Abstract: An input unit receives input of an assumed listening position of sound of an object, which is a sound source, and outputs assumed listening position information indicating the assumed listening position. A position information correction unit corrects position information of each object on the basis of the assumed listening position information to obtain corrected position information. A gain/frequency characteristic correction unit performs gain correction and frequency characteristic correction on a waveform signal of an object on the basis of the position information and the corrected position information. A spatial acoustic characteristic addition unit further adds a spatial acoustic characteristic to the waveform signal resulting from the gain correction and the frequency characteristic correction on the basis of the position information of the object and the assumed listening position information. The present technology is applicable to an audio processing device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2021
    Publication date: March 17, 2022
    Inventors: MINORU TSUJI, TORU CHINEN
  • Patent number: 11257478
    Abstract: The present technology relates to a signal processing device, a signal processing method, and a program that enable implementation of more effective distance feeling control. The signal processing device includes a reverb processing unit that generates a signal of a reverb component on the basis of object audio data of an audio object and a reverb parameter for the audio object. The present technology can be applied to a signal processing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Minoru Tsuji, Toru Chinen, Takao Fukui, Mitsuyuki Hatanaka
  • Patent number: 11259135
    Abstract: The present technology relates a reproduction apparatus, a reproduction method, an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program which can realize reproduction of highly flexible audio data while reflecting the intention of a content creator. A reproduction apparatus according to one aspect of the present technology acquires content including audio data of each of audio objects and rendering parameters of the audio data for each of a plurality of presumed listening positions, renders the audio data on the basis of the rendering parameters for a selected predetermined presumed listening position, and outputs an audio signal. The present technology can be applied to an apparatus that can reproduce object-based audio data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Minoru Tsuji, Toru Chinen, Mitsuhiro Hirabayashi, Keiichi Aoyama
  • Publication number: 20220020381
    Abstract: The present technology relates to an information processing device and method and a program that make it possible to reduce the total number of objects while the influence on the sound quality is suppressed. The information processing device includes a pass-through object selection unit configured to acquire data of L objects and select, from the L objects, M pass-through objects whose data is to be outputted as it is, and an object generation unit configured to generate, on the basis of the data of multiple non-pass-through objects that are not the pass-through objects among the L objects, the data of N new objects, N being smaller than (L?M). The present technology can be applied to an information processing device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2019
    Publication date: January 20, 2022
    Applicant: Sony Group Corporation
    Inventors: Yuki Yamamoto, Toru Chinen, Minoru Tsuji, Yoshiaki Oikawa
  • Patent number: 11223921
    Abstract: An input unit receives input of an assumed listening position of sound of an object, which is a sound source, and outputs assumed listening position information indicating the assumed listening position. A position information correction unit corrects position information of each object on the basis of the assumed listening position information to obtain corrected position information. A gain/frequency characteristic correction unit performs gain correction and frequency characteristic correction on a waveform signal of an object on the basis of the position information and the corrected position information. A spatial acoustic characteristic addition unit further adds a spatial acoustic characteristic to the waveform signal resulting from the gain correction and the frequency characteristic correction on the basis of the position information of the object and the assumed listening position information. The present technology is applicable to an audio processing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Minoru Tsuji, Toru Chinen