Patents by Inventor Ralf Geiger

Ralf Geiger 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: 20140343953
    Abstract: In an embodiment, bitstream elements of sub-frames are encoded differentially to a global gain value so that a change of the global gain value results in an adjustment of an output level of the decoded representation of the audio content. Concurrently, the differential coding saves bits. Even further, the differential coding enables the lowering of the burden of globally adjusting the gain of an encoded bitstream. In another embodiment, a global gain control across CELP coded frames and transform coded frames is achieved by co-controlling the gain of the codebook excitation of the CELP codec, along with a level of the transform or inverse transform of the transform coded frames. In another embodiment, the gain value determination in CELP coding is performed in the weighted domain of the excitation signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2014
    Publication date: November 20, 2014
    Applicant: FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V.
    Inventors: Ralf GEIGER, Guillaume FUCHS, Markus MULTRUS, Bernhard GRILL
  • Patent number: 8862480
    Abstract: An apparatus for encoding an audio signal includes the windower for windowing a first block of the audio signal using an analysis window having an aliasing portion and a further portion. The apparatus furthermore includes a processor for processing the first sub-block of the audio signal associated with the aliasing portion by transforming the sub-block from a domain into a different domain subsequent to windowing the first sub-block to obtain the processed first sub-block, and for processing a second sub-block of the audio signal associated with the further portion by transforming the second sub-block from the domain into the different domain before windowing the second sub-block to obtain a processed second sub-block. Thus, a critically sampled switch between two coding modes can be obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2014
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V.
    Inventors: Guillaume Fuchs, Jeremie Lecomte, Stefan Bayer, Ralf Geiger, Markus Multrus, Gerald Schuller, Jens Hirschfeld
  • 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
  • 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: 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: 8775193
    Abstract: An embodiment of an apparatus for generating audio subband values in audio subband channels has an analysis windower for windowing a frame of time-domain audio input samples being in a time sequence extending from an early sample to a later sample using an analysis window function having a sequence of window coefficients to obtain windowed samples. The analysis window function has a first group of window coefficients and a second group of window coefficients. The first group of window coefficients is used for windowing later time-domain samples and the second group of window coefficients is used for windowing an earlier time-domain samples. The apparatus further has a calculator for calculating the audio subband values using the windowed samples.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V.
    Inventors: Markus Schnell, Manfred Lutzky, Markus Lohwasser, Markus Schmidt, Marc Gayer, Michael Mellar, Bernd Edler, Markus Multrus, Gerald Schuller, Ralf Geiger, Bernhard Grill
  • Patent number: 8762159
    Abstract: An audio decoder for providing a decoded audio information on the basis of an encoded audio information includes a window-based signal transformer configured to map a time-frequency representation, which is described by the encoded audio information, to a time-domain representation. The window-based signal transformer is configured to select a window, out of a plurality of windows including windows of different transition slopes and windows of different transform length, on the basis of a window information. The audio decoder includes a window selector configured to evaluate a variable-codeword-length window information in order to select a window for a processing of a given portion of the time-frequency representation associated with a given frame of the audio information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V.
    Inventors: Ralf Geiger, Jeremie Lecomte, Markus Multrus, Max Neuendorf, Christian Spitzner
  • Patent number: 8744843
    Abstract: In an embodiment, bitstream elements of sub-frames are encoded differentially to a global gain value so that a change of the global gain value results in an adjustment of an output level of the decoded representation of the audio content. Concurrently, the differential coding saves bits. Even further, the differential coding enables the lowering of the burden of globally adjusting the gain of an encoded bitstream. In another embodiment, a global gain control across CELP coded frames and transform coded frames is achieved by co-controlling the gain of the codebook excitation of the CELP codec, along with a level of the transform or inverse transform of the transform coded frames. In another embodiment, the gain value determination in CELP coding is performed in the weighted domain of the excitation signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2014
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V.
    Inventors: Ralf Geiger, Guillaume Fuchs, Markus Multrus, Bernhard Grill
  • Patent number: 8706480
    Abstract: An audio encoder for encoding an audio signal includes an impulse extractor for extracting an impulse-like portion from the audio signal. This impulse-like portion is encoded and forwarded to an output interface. Furthermore, the audio encoder includes a signal encoder which encodes a residual signal derived from the original audio signal so that the impulse-like portion is reduced or eliminated in the residual audio signal. The output interface forwards both, the encoded signals, i.e., the encoded impulse signal and the encoded residual signal for transmission or storage. On the decoder-side, both signal portions are separately decoded and then combined to obtain a decoded audio signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V.
    Inventors: Juergen Herre, Ralf Geiger, Stefan Bayer, Guillaume Fuchs, Ulrich Kraemer, Nikolaus Rettelbach, Bernhard Grill
  • Patent number: 8700388
    Abstract: A processed representation of an audio signal having a sequence of frames is generated by sampling the audio signal within first and second frames of the sequence of frames, the second frame following the first frame, the sampling using information on a pitch contour of the first and second frames to derive a first sampled representation. The audio signal is sampled within the second and third frames, the third frame following the second frame in the sequence of frames. The sampling uses the information on the pitch contour of the second frame and information on a pitch contour of the third frame to derive a second sampled representation. A first scaling window is derived for the first sampled representation, and a second scaling window is derived for the second sampled representation, the scaling windows depending on the samplings applied to derive the first sampled representations or the second sampled representation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Bernd Edler, Sascha Disch, Ralf Geiger, Stefan Bayer, Ulrich Kraemer, Guillaume Fuchs, Max Neuendorf, Markus Multrus, Gerald Schuller, Harald Popp
  • Publication number: 20140074486
    Abstract: An apparatus for generating an audio output signal based on an encoded audio signal spectrum has a processing unit, a pseudo coefficients determiner, a spectrum modification unit, a spectrum-time conversion unit, a controllable oscillator and a mixer. The pseudo coefficients determiner is configured to determine pseudo coefficients of the decoded audio signal spectrum. The spectrum modification unit is configured to set the pseudo coefficients to a predefined value to acquire a modified audio signal spectrum. The spectrum-time conversion unit is configured to convert the modified audio signal spectrum to a time-domain. The controllable oscillator is configured to generate a time-domain oscillator signal and is controlled by the spectral location and the spectral value of at least one of the pseudo coefficients. The mixer is configured to mix the time-domain conversion signal and the time-domain oscillator signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2013
    Publication date: March 13, 2014
    Inventors: Sascha DISCH, Benjamin SCHUBERT, Ralf GEIGER, Martin DIETZ
  • Patent number: 8630862
    Abstract: An audio signal encoder includes a transform-domain path which obtains spectral coefficients and noise-shaping information on the basis of a portion of the audio content, and which windows a time-domain representation of the audio content and applies a time-domain-to-frequency-domain conversion. The audio signal decoder includes a CELP path to obtain a code-excitation information and a LPC parameter information. A converter applies a predetermined asymmetric analysis window in both if a current portion is followed by a subsequent portion to be encoded in the transform-domain mode or in the CELP mode. Aliasing cancellation information is selectively provided in the latter case.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2014
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V.
    Inventors: Ralf Geiger, Markus Schnell, Jeremie Lecomte, Konstantin Schmidt, Guillaume Fuchs, Nikolaus Rettelbach
  • Publication number: 20130332151
    Abstract: An apparatus for processing a decoded audio signal including a filter for filtering the decoded audio signal to obtain a filtered audio signal, a time-spectral converter stage for converting the decoded audio signal and the filtered audio signal into corresponding spectral representations, each spectral representation having a plurality of subband signals, a weighter for performing a frequency selective weighting of the filtered audio signal by a multiplying subband signals by respective weighting coefficients to obtain a weighted filtered audio signal, a subtractor for performing a subband-wise subtraction between the weighted filtered audio signal and the spectral representation of the decoded audio signal, and a spectral-time converter for converting the result audio signal or a signal derived from the result audio signal into a time domain representation to obtain a processed decoded audio signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 14, 2013
    Publication date: December 12, 2013
    Inventors: Guillaume FUCHS, Ralf GEIGER, Markus SCHNELL, Emmanuel RAVELLI, Stefan DOEHLA
  • Publication number: 20130332174
    Abstract: An audio codec supporting both, time-domain and frequency-domain coding modes, having low-delay and an increased coding efficiency in terms of iterate/distortion ratio, is obtained by configuring the audio encoder such that same operates in different operating modes such that if the active operative mode is a first operating mode, a mode dependent set of available frame coding modes is disjoined to a first subset of time-domain coding modes, and overlaps with a second subset of frequency-domain coding modes, whereas if the active operating mode is a second operating mode, the mode dependent set of available frame coding modes overlaps with both subsets, i.e. the subset of time-domain coding modes as well as the subset of frequency-domain coding modes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 13, 2013
    Publication date: December 12, 2013
    Applicant: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Zur Forderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V.
    Inventors: Ralf Geiger, Konstantin Schmidt, Bernhard Grill, Manfred Lutzky, Michael Werner, Marc Gayer, Johannes Hilpert, Maria Luis Valero, Wolfgang Jaegers
  • Publication number: 20130332148
    Abstract: An apparatus for encoding an audio signal having a stream of audio samples has: a windower for applying a prediction coding analysis window to the stream of audio samples to obtain windowed data for a prediction analysis and for applying a transform coding analysis window to the stream of audio samples to obtain windowed data for a transform analysis, wherein the transform coding analysis window is associated with audio samples within a current frame of audio samples and with audio samples of a predefined portion of a future frame of audio samples being a transform-coding look-ahead portion, wherein the prediction coding analysis window is associated with at least the portion of the audio samples of the current frame and with audio samples of a predefined portion of the future frame being a prediction coding look-ahead portion, wherein the transform coding look-ahead portion and the prediction coding look-ahead portion are identically to each other or are different from each other by less than 20%; and an enc
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 14, 2013
    Publication date: December 12, 2013
    Inventors: Emmanuel RAVELLI, Ralf GEIGER, Markus SCHNELL, Guillaume FUCHS, Vesa RUOPPILA, Tom BAECKSTROEM, Bernhard GRILL, Christian HELMRICH
  • Patent number: 8595019
    Abstract: An audio encoder adapted for encoding frames of a sampled audio signal to obtain encoded frames, wherein a frame includes a number of time domain audio samples. The audio encoder includes a predictive coding analysis stage for determining information on coefficients of a synthesis filter and a prediction domain frame based on a frame of audio samples. The audio encoder further includes a time-aliasing introducing transformer for transforming overlapping prediction domain frames to the frequency domain to obtain prediction domain frame spectra, wherein the time-aliasing introducing transformer is adapted for transforming the overlapping prediction domain frames in a critically-sampled way. Moreover, the audio encoder includes a redundancy reducing encoder for encoding the prediction domain frame spectra to obtain the encoded frames based on the coefficients and the encoded prediction domain frame spectra.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2013
    Assignees: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V., Voiceage Corporation
    Inventors: Ralf Geiger, Bernhard Grill, Bruno Bessette, Philippe Gournay, Guillaume Fuchs, Markus Multrus, Max Neuendorf, Gerald Schuller
  • Patent number: 8571876
    Abstract: An apparatus for obtaining a parameter describing a variation of a signal characteristic of a signal on the basis of actual transform-domain parameters describing the audio signal in transform-domain includes a parameter determinator. The parameter determinator is configured to determine one or more model parameters of a transform-domain variation model describing an evolution of the transform-domain parameters in dependence on one or more model parameters representing a signal characteristic, such that a model error, representing a deviation between a modeled temporal evolution of the transform-domain parameters and an evolution of the actual transform-domain parameters, is brought below a predetermined threshold value or minimized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Tom Baeckstroem, Stefan Bayer, Ralf Geiger, Max Neuendorf, Sascha Disch
  • Publication number: 20130282389
    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: June 21, 2013
    Publication date: October 24, 2013
    Inventors: RALF GEIGER, MAX NEUENDORF, YOSHIKAZU YOKOTANI, NIKOLAUS RETTELBACH, JUERGEN HERRE, STEFAN GEYERSBERGER
  • Patent number: RE45276
    Abstract: An embodiment of an analysis filterbank for filtering a plurality of time domain input frames, wherein an input frame comprises a number of ordered input samples, comprises a windower configured to generate a plurality of windowed frames, wherein a windowed frame comprises a plurality of windowed samples, wherein the windower is configured to process the plurality of input frames in an overlapping manner using a sample advance value, wherein the sample advance value is less than the number of ordered input samples of an input frame divided by two, and a time/frequency converter configured to provide an output frame comprising a number of output values, wherein an output frame is a spectral representation of a windowed frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
    Inventors: Bernhard Grill, Markus Schnell, Ralf Geiger, Gerald Schuller