Patents by Inventor Nikolaus Rettelbach

Nikolaus Rettelbach 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: 9043202
    Abstract: An apparatus for decoding data segments representing a time-domain data stream, a data segment being encoded in the time domain or in the frequency domain, a data segment being encoded in the frequency domain having successive blocks of data representing successive and overlapping blocks of time-domain data samples. The apparatus includes a time-domain decoder for decoding a data segment being encoded in the time domain and a processor for processing the data segment being encoded in the frequency domain and output data of the time-domain decoder to obtain overlapping time-domain data blocks. The apparatus further includes an overlap/add-combiner for combining the overlapping time-domain data blocks to obtain a decoded data segment of the time-domain data stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2015
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Ralf Geiger, Max Neuendorf, Yoshikazu Yokotani, Nikolaus Rettelbach, Juergen Herre, Stefan Geyersberger
  • Patent number: 9043215
    Abstract: An audio encoder for encoding an audio signal has a first coding branch, the first coding branch comprising a first converter for converting a signal from a time domain into a frequency domain. Furthermore, the audio encoder has a second coding branch comprising a second time/frequency converter. Additionally, a signal analyzer for analyzing the audio signal is provided. The signal analyzer, on the hand, determines whether an audio portion is effective in the encoder output signal as a first encoded signal from the first encoding branch or as a second encoded signal from a second encoding branch. On the other hand, the signal analyzer determines a time/frequency resolution to be applied by the converters when generating the encoded signals. An output interface includes, in addition to the first encoded signal and the second encoded signal, a resolution information identifying the resolution used by the first time/frequency converter and used by the second time/frequency converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2015
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Max Neuendorf, Stefan Bayer, Jeremie Lecomte, Guillaume Fuchs, Julien Robilliard, Nikolaus Rettelbach, Frederik Nagel, Ralf Geiger, Markus Multrus, Bernhard Grill, Philippe Gournay, Redwan Salami
  • Patent number: 9043203
    Abstract: An encoder for providing an audio stream on the basis of a transform-domain representation of an input audio signal includes a quantization error calculator configured to determine a multi-band quantization error over a plurality of frequency bands of the input audio signal for which separate band gain information is available. The encoder also includes an audio stream provider for providing the audio stream such that the audio stream includes information describing an audio content of the frequency bands and information describing the multi-band quantization error. A decoder for providing a decoded representation of an audio signal on the basis of an encoded audio stream representing spectral components of frequency bands of the audio signal includes a noise filler for introducing noise into spectral components of a plurality of frequency bands to which separate frequency band gain information is associated on the basis of a common multi-band noise intensity value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2015
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Nikolaus Rettelbach, Bernhard Grill, Guillaume Fuchs, Stefan Geyersberger, Markus Multrus, Harald Popp, Juergen Herre, Stefan Wabnik, Gerald Schuller, Jens Hirschfeld
  • Publication number: 20150112693
    Abstract: An encoder for providing an audio stream on the basis of a transform-domain representation of an input audio signal includes a quantization error calculator configured to determine a multi-band quantization error over a plurality of frequency bands of the input audio signal for which separate band gain information is available. The encoder also includes an audio stream provider for providing the audio stream such that the audio stream includes information describing an audio content of the frequency bands and information describing the multi-band quantization error. A decoder for providing a decoded representation of an audio signal on the basis of an encoded audio stream representing spectral components of frequency bands of the audio signal includes a noise filler for introducing noise into spectral components of a plurality of frequency bands to which separate frequency band gain information is associated on the basis of a common multi-band noise intensity value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 24, 2014
    Publication date: April 23, 2015
    Applicant: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Nikolaus RETTELBACH, Bernhard GRILL, Guillaume FUCHS, Stefan GEYERSBERGER, Markus MULTRUS, Harald POPP, Juergen HERRE, Stefan WABNIK, Gerald SCHULLER, Jens HIRSCHFELD
  • Publication number: 20150081312
    Abstract: An audio decoder includes an arithmetic decoder for providing decoded spectral values on the basis of an arithmetically-encoded representation of the spectral values and a frequency-domain-to-time-domain converter for providing a time-domain audio representation using the decoded spectral values. The arithmetic decoder selects a mapping rule describing a mapping of a code value onto a symbol code in dependence on a context state described by a numeric current context value, and determines the numeric current context value in dependence on a plurality of previously-decoded spectral values. The arithmetic decoder modifies a number representation of a numeric previous context value, describing a context state associated with one or more previously decoded spectral values, in dependence on a context subregion value, to acquire a number representation of a numeric current context value describing a context state associated with one or more spectral values to be decoded. An audio encoder uses a similar concept.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 19, 2014
    Publication date: March 19, 2015
    Inventors: Vignesh SUBBARAMAN, Guillaume FUCHS, Markus MULTRUS, Nikolaus RETTELBACH, Oliver WEISS, Marc GAYER, Patrick WARMBOLD, Christian GRIEBEL
  • Patent number: 8983851
    Abstract: A noise filler for providing a noise-filled spectral representation of an audio signal on the basis of an input spectral representation of the audio signal has a spectral region identifier configured to identify spectral regions of the input spectral representation spaced from non-zero spectral regions of the input spectral representation by at least one intermediate spectral region, to obtain identified spectral regions, and a noise inserter configured to selectively introduce noise into the identified spectral regions to obtain the noise-filled spectral representation of the audio signal. A noise filling parameter calculator for providing a noise filling parameter on the basis of a quantized spectral representation of an audio signal has a spectral region identifier, as mentioned above, and a noise value calculator configured to selectively consider quantization errors of the identified spectral regions for a calculation of the noise filling parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Nikolaus Rettelbach, Bernhard Grill, Guillaume Fuchs, Stefan Geyersberger, Markus Multrus, Harald Popp, Juergen Herre, Stefan Wabnik, Gerald Schuller, Jens Hirschfeld
  • Patent number: 8959017
    Abstract: An apparatus for encoding includes a first domain converter, a switchable bypass, a second domain converter, a first processor and a second processor to obtain an encoded audio signal having different signal portions represented by coded data in different domains, which have been coded by different coding algorithms. Corresponding decoding stages in the decoder together with a bypass for bypassing a domain converter allow the generation of a decoded audio signal with high quality and low bit rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2015
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Bernhard Grill, Stefan Bayer, Guillaume Fuchs, Stefan Geyersberger, Ralf Geiger, Johannes Hilpert, Ulrich Kraemer, Jeremie Lecomte, Markus Multrus, Max Neuendorf, Harald Popp, Nikolaus Rettelbach, Roch LeFebvre, Bruno Bessette, Jimmy LaPierre, Philippe Gournay, Redwan Salami
  • Patent number: 8930198
    Abstract: An audio encoder has a first information sink oriented encoding branch, a second information source or SNR oriented encoding branch, and a switch for switching between the first encoding branch and the second encoding branch, wherein the second encoding branch has a converter into a specific domain different from the spectral domain, and wherein the second encoding branch furthermore has a specific domain coding branch, and a specific spectral domain coding branch, and an additional switch for switching between the specific domain coding branch and the specific spectral domain coding branch. An audio decoder has a first domain decoder, a second domain decoder for decoding a signal, and a third domain decoder and two cascaded switches for switching between the decoders.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignees: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V., Voiceage Corporation
    Inventors: Bernhard Grill, Roch Lefebvre, Bruno Bessette, Jimmy Lapierre, Philippe Gournay, Redwan Salami, Stefan Bayer, Guillaume Fuchs, Stefan Geyersberger, Ralf Geiger, Johannes Hilpert, Ulrich Kraemer, Jeremie Lecomte, Markus Multrus, Max Neuendorf, Harald Popp, Nikolaus Rettelbach
  • Patent number: 8930202
    Abstract: An audio encoder for encoding segments of coefficients, the segments of coefficients representing different time or frequency resolutions of a sampled audio signal, the audio encoder including a processor for deriving a coding context for a currently encoded coefficient of a current segment based on a previously encoded coefficient of a previous segment, the previously encoded coefficient representing a different time or frequency resolution than the currently encoded coefficient. The audio encoder further includes an entropy encoder for entropy encoding the current coefficient based on the coding context to obtain an encoded audio stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V.
    Inventors: Markus Multrus, Bernhard Grill, Guillaume Fuchs, Stefan Geyersberger, Nikolaus Rettelbach, Virgilio Bacigalupo
  • Patent number: 8914296
    Abstract: An audio decoder includes an arithmetic decoder for providing decoded spectral values on the basis of an arithmetically encoded representation thereof, and a frequency-domain-to-time-domain converter for providing a time-domain audio representation. The arithmetic decoder selects a mapping rule describing a mapping of a code value onto a symbol code representing a spectral value, or a most significant bit-plane thereof, in a decoded form, in dependence on a context state described by a numeric current context value. The arithmetic decoder determines the numeric current context value in dependence on a plurality of previously decoded spectral values. It evaluates a hash table, entries of which define both significant state values amongst the numeric context values and boundaries of intervals of numeric context values, in order to select the mapping rule, wherein the hash table ari_hash_m is defined as given in FIGS. 22(1), 22(2), 22(3) and 22(4).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2014
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Guillaume Fuchs, Vignesh Subbaraman, Markus Multrus, Nikolaus Rettelbach, Matthias Hildenbrand, Oliver Weiss, Arthur Tritthart, Patrick Warmbold
  • Patent number: 8898068
    Abstract: An audio decoder includes an arithmetic decoder for providing decoded spectral values on the basis of an arithmetically-encoded representation of the spectral values and a frequency-domain-to-time-domain converter for providing a time-domain audio representation using the decoded spectral values. The arithmetic decoder selects a mapping rule describing a mapping of a code value onto a symbol code in dependence on a context state described by a numeric current context value, and determines the numeric current context value in dependence on a plurality of previously-decoded spectral values. The arithmetic decoder modifies a number representation of a numeric previous context value, describing a context state associated with one or more previously decoded spectral values, in dependence on a context subregion value, to acquire a number representation of a numeric current context value describing a context state associated with one or more spectral values to be decoded. An audio encoder uses a similar concept.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2014
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Vignesh Subbaraman, Guillaume Fuchs, Markus Multrus, Nikolaus Rettelbach, Oliver Weiss, Marc Gayer, Patrick Warmbold, Christian Griebel
  • Patent number: 8880410
    Abstract: An apparatus for generating a bandwidth extended signal from an input signal includes a patch generator and a combiner. The input signal is represented for first and second bands by first and second resolution data, respectively, the second resolution being lower than the first. The patch generator generates first and second patches from the first band of the input signal according to first and second patching algorithms, respectively. A spectral density of the second patch generated using the second patching algorithm is higher than a spectral density of a first patch generated using the first patching algorithm. The combiner combines both patches and the first band of the input signal to obtain the bandwidth extended signal. The apparatus scales the input signal according to the first and second patching algorithms or scales the first and second patches, so that the bandwidth extended signal fulfills a spectral envelope criterion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 4, 2014
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Frederik Nagel, Sascha Disch, Max Neuendorf, Stefan Bayer, Marc Gayer, Markus Lohwasser, Nikolaus Rettelbach, Ulrich Kraemer
  • Publication number: 20140297293
    Abstract: An audio encoding apparatus includes an encoder for encoding a time segment of an input audio signal to be encoded to obtain a corresponding encoded signal segment. The audio encoding apparatus further includes a decoder for decoding the encoded signal segment to obtain a re-decoded signal segment. A clipping detector is provided for analyzing the re-decoded signal segment with respect to at least one of an actual signal clipping or an perceptible signal clipping and for generating a corresponding clipping alert. The encoder is further configured to again encode the time segment of the audio signal with at least one modified encoding parameter resulting in a reduced clipping probability in response to the clipping alert.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 13, 2014
    Publication date: October 2, 2014
    Inventors: Albert HEUBERGER, Bernd EDLER, Nikolaus RETTELBACH, Stefan GEYERSBERGER, Johannes HILPERT
  • Patent number: 8818796
    Abstract: An apparatus for decoding data segments representing a time-domain data stream, a data segment being encoded in the time domain or in the frequency domain, a data segment being encoded in the frequency domain having successive blocks of data representing successive and overlapping blocks of time-domain data samples. The apparatus includes a time-domain decoder for decoding a data segment being encoded in the time domain and a processor for processing the data segment being encoded in the frequency domain and output data of the time-domain decoder to obtain overlapping time-domain data blocks. The apparatus further includes an overlap/add-combiner for combining the overlapping time-domain data blocks to obtain a decoded data segment of the time-domain data stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V.
    Inventors: Ralf Geiger, Max Neuendorf, Yoshikazu Yokotani, Nikolaus Rettelbach, Juergen Herre, Stefan Geyersberger
  • Publication number: 20140236605
    Abstract: An encoder for providing an audio stream on the basis of a transform-domain representation of an input audio signal includes a quantization error calculator configured to determine a multi-band quantization error over a plurality of frequency bands of the input audio signal for which separate band gain information is available. The encoder also includes an audio stream provider for providing the audio stream such that the audio stream includes information describing an audio content of the frequency bands and information describing the multi-band quantization error. A decoder for providing a decoded representation of an audio signal on the basis of an encoded audio stream representing spectral components of frequency bands of the audio signal includes a noise filler for introducing noise into spectral components of a plurality of frequency bands to which separate frequency band gain information is associated on the basis of a common multi-band noise intensity value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2014
    Publication date: August 21, 2014
    Applicant: FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V.
    Inventors: Nikolaus Rettelbach, Bernhard Grill, Guillaume Fuchs, Stefan Geyersberger, Markus Multrus, Harald Popp, Juergen Herre, Stefan Wabnik, Gerald Schuller, Jens Hirschfeld
  • Patent number: 8812305
    Abstract: An apparatus for decoding data segments representing a time-domain data stream, a data segment being encoded in the time domain or in the frequency domain, a data segment being encoded in the frequency domain having successive blocks of data representing successive and overlapping blocks of time-domain data samples. The apparatus includes a time-domain decoder for decoding a data segment being encoded in the time domain and a processor for processing the data segment being encoded in the frequency domain and output data of the time-domain decoder to obtain overlapping time-domain data blocks. The apparatus further includes an overlap/add-combiner for combining the overlapping time-domain data blocks to obtain a decoded data segment of the time-domain data stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V.
    Inventors: Ralf Geiger, Max Neuendorf, Yoshikazu Yokotani, Nikolaus Rettelbach, Juergen Herre, Stefan Geyersberger
  • Patent number: 8804970
    Abstract: An audio encoder has a common preprocessing stage, an information sink based encoding branch such as spectral domain encoding branch, a information source based encoding branch such as an LPC-domain encoding branch and a switch for switching between these branches at inputs into these branches or outputs of these branches controlled by a decision stage. An audio decoder has a spectral domain decoding branch, an LPC-domain decoding branch, one or more switches for switching between the branches and a common post-processing stage for post-processing a time-domain audio signal for obtaining a post-processed audio signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V.
    Inventors: Bernhard Grill, Stefan Bayer, Guillaume Fuchs, Stefan Geyersberger, Ralf Geiger, Johannes Hilpert, Ulrich Kraemer, Jeremie Lecomte, Markus Multrus, Max Neuendorf, Harald Popp, Nikolaus Rettelbach, Frederik Nagel, Sascha Disch, Juergen Herre, Yoshikazu Yokotani, Stefan Wabnik, Gerald Schuller, Jens Hirschfeld
  • Publication number: 20140222434
    Abstract: An audio signal synthesizer generates a synthesis audio signal having a first frequency band and a second synthesized frequency band derived from the first frequency band and comprises a patch generator, a spectral converter, a raw signal processor and a combiner. The patch generator performs at least two different patching algorithms, each patching algorithm generating a raw signal. The patch generator is adapted to select one of the at least two different patching algorithms in response to a control information. The spectral converter converts the raw signal into a raw signal spectral representation. The raw signal processor processes the raw signal spectral representation in response to spectral domain spectral band replication parameters to obtain an adjusted raw signal spectral representation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2014
    Publication date: August 7, 2014
    Applicant: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forschung E.V.
    Inventors: Frederik NAGEL, Sascha DISCH, Nikolaus RETTELBACH, Max NEUENDORF, Bernhard GRILL, Ulrich KRAEMER, Stefan WABNIK
  • Publication number: 20140222442
    Abstract: An apparatus for decoding data segments representing a time-domain data stream, a data segment being encoded in the time domain or in the frequency domain, a data segment being encoded in the frequency domain having successive blocks of data representing successive and overlapping blocks of time-domain data samples. The apparatus includes a time-domain decoder for decoding a data segment being encoded in the time domain and a processor for processing the data segment being encoded in the frequency domain and output data of the time-domain decoder to obtain overlapping time-domain data blocks. The apparatus further includes an overlap/add-combiner for combining the overlapping time-domain data blocks to obtain a decoded data segment of the time-domain data stream.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2014
    Publication date: August 7, 2014
    Inventors: Ralf GEIGER, Max NEUENDORF, Yoshikazu YOKOTANI, Nikolaus RETTELBACH, Juergen HERRE, Stefan GEYERSBERGER
  • Patent number: 8756056
    Abstract: For determining a quantizer step size for quantizing a signal including audio or video information, a first quantizer step size as well as an interference threshold are provided. Then, the actual interference introduced by the first quantizer step size is determined and compared with the interference threshold. Despite the fact that the comparison reveals that the actually introduced interference exceeds the threshold, a second, coarser quantizer step size is nevertheless used, which will then be used for quantization if it turns out that the interference introduced by the coarser, second quantizer step size falls below the threshold or falls below the interference introduced by the first quantizer step size. Thus, the quantization interference is reduced while the quantization is coarsened and, thus, the compression gain is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2014
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V.
    Inventors: Bernhard Grill, Michael Schug, Bodo Teichmann, Nikolaus Rettelbach