Abstract: A larger number, L', of delta vectors .DELTA..sub.i (i=0, 1, 2, . . . , L'-1) than the required number L are each multiplied by a matrix of a linear predictive synthesis filter (3), their power (A.DELTA..sub.i).sup.T (A.DELTA..sub.i) is evaluated (42), and the delta vectors are reordered in decreasing order of power (43); then, L delta vectors are selected in decreasing order of power, the largest power first, to construct a tree-structure data code book (41), using which A-b-S vector quantization is performed (48). This provides increased freedom for the space formed by the delta vectors and improves quantization characteristics. Further, variable rate encoding is achieved by taking advantage of the structure of the tree-structure data code book.

Abstract: Speech coding uses a periodic excitation signal source, a non-periodic signal excitation source, a synthesizing unit, a filter, and an error evaluating unit. The synthesizing unit synthesizes a periodic excitation signal and a non-periodic excitation signal output from the above-mentioned sources to generate an excitation sound source signal. The filter regenerates an input speech signal from the excitation sound signal. The error evaluating unit controls the periodic excitation signal source and the non-periodic excitation signal source so that the above-mentioned units output periodic and non-periodic excitation signals which minimize a difference of the regenerated signal from an input speech signal. When the error is minimized, the above-mentioned sound source is supplied to a feedback excitation signal modifying unit.

Abstract: A speech coding system is provided where input speech is coded by finding via an evaluation computation a code vector giving a minimum error between reproduced signals obtained by linear prediction analysis filter processing, simulating speech path characteristics, on code vectors successively read out from a noise codebook storing a plurality of noise trains as code vectors and an input speech signal and by using a code specifying the code vector. In the speech coding system, the noise codebook includes a delta vector codebook which stores an initial vector and a plurality of delta vectors having difference vectors between adjoining code vectors. In addition, provision is made in the computing unit for the evaluation computation of a cyclic adding unit for cumulatively adding the delta vectors to virtually reproduce the code vectors.

Abstract: A gain-shape vector quantization apparatus is provided for encoding and decoding, to transmit and receive compressed speech signals. A selected plurality of vectors are read from a code book based upon an index signal. The vectors are added in an adder and synthesis filtered by a synthesis filter, in either order, to produce an output. This output is subtracted from an input speech signal to produce an error signal. An evaluation unit produces an index to select the plurality of vectors read from the code book memory based on the error signal in order to minimize this error signal. The evaluation unit produces gain adjusting signals which can be used to adjust gains of the vectors read from the code book. In an encoder, signals indicative of the gain adjusting signal and the index signal are transmitted by a transmitter of the encoder to send a quantized speech signal to a receiver of a decoder.

Abstract: A code excited linear prediction (CELP) type speech signal coding system is provided, a code vector obtained by applying linear prediction to a vector of a residual speech signal of white noise is stored in a code book. A pitch prediction vector obtained by applying linear prediction to a residual signal of a preceding frame is given a delay corresponding to a pitch frequency and added to the code vector. Use is made of an impulse vector obtained by applying linear prediction to a residual signal vector of impulses having a predetermined relationship with the vectors of the white noise code book. Variable gains are given to at least the above code vector and impulse vector, a reproduced signal is produced, and this reproduced signal is used for identification of the input speech signal. Thus, a pulse series corresponding to the sound source of voiced speech sounds is created.

Abstract: Pitch periods for a long term predictor included in a speech codec are searched in two searching stages. In the first searching stage, probable pitch periods are searched skipping a constant number of pitch periods, and in the second searching stage, pitch periods including the pitch period determined in the first searching stage and pitch periods neighboring the pitch period on both sides are searched.

Abstract: A speech coding apparatus coupled to a transmission channel includes m (m is an integer greater than 1) coders, m decoders and m or (m-1) error correcting coders. The apparatus also includes an evaluation unit which evaluates a quality of each of reproduced speech signals from the input speech signal and the reproduced speech signals and which outputs an evaluated quality of each of the reproduced speech signals. The quality of each of the reproduced speech signals is evaluated in a state having no transmission error. A decision unit identifies one of the m coders which provides the reproduced speech signal having a smallest distortion on the basis of the evaluated quality of each of the reproduced speech signals, a current error rate of the transmission channel and error correcting abilities of the error correcting coders, and generates a coder identification number representative of a selected one of the m coders.

Abstract: A CELP type speech coding system is provided with an arithmetic processing unit which transforms a perceptual weighted input speech signal vector AX to a vector .sup.t AAX, a sparse adaptive codebook which stores a plurality of pitch prediction residual vectors P sparsed by a sparse unit, and a multiplying unit which multiplies the successively read out vectors P and the output .sup.t AAX from the arithmetic processing unit. In addition, the CELP type speech coding system includes a filter operation unit which performs a filter operation on the vectors P, and an evaluation unit which finds the optimum vector P based on the output from the filter operation unit, so as to enable reduction of the amount of arithmetic operations.

Abstract: An apparatus for compressing and decompressing speech signals. The encoder or decoder comprises a plurality of codebooks each controlling a plurality of indexed code vectors for a different frequency band. Each of the codebooks is provided with a synthesis filter for reproducing a signal wave shape based on a code vector provided by the corresponding codebook. The encoder or decoder further comprises an adder for computing a sum of signal wave shapes reproduced by the synthesis filters. This arrangement can reduce the memory size of each codebook used for an encoding or a decoding process and an amount of operations of the encoding or decoding process.

Abstract: Several encoders perform a local decoding of a speech signal and extract excitation information and vocal tract information from a speech signal for an encoding operation. The transmission rate ratio between the excitation information and the vocal tract information are different for each encoder. An evaluation/selection unit evaluates the quality of decoded signals subjected to a local decoding in each of the encoders, determines the most suitable encoders from among the several encoders based on the result of the evaluation, and selects the most suitable encoder, thereby outputting the selection result as selection information. The decoder decodes a speech signal based on selection information, vocal tract information and excitation information. The evaluation/selection unit selects the output from the encoder in which the quality of a locally decoded signal is the most preferable.

Abstract: A gain-shape vector quantization apparatus for compressing the data of voice signal. A code book portion is constituted by a plurality of shape vectors which produce a plurality of selected shape vectors. A plurality of variable gain circuits impart gains to each shape vector produced from the code book portion. A plurality of synthesis filters regenerate signals from the outputs of the variable gain circuits. An adder adds the signals regenerated by the synthesis filters. An evaluation unit produces an index to select a plurality of shape vectors in the code book portion in order to minimize an error between the output of the adder and an input speech signal and further produces gain adjusting signal for the variable gain circuits.

Abstract: A voice coding apparatus includes a pitch detecting circuit which detects a pitch period of a voice signal; a pitch waveform generating circuit which samples the voice signal for a plurality of pitches based on the pitch period detected by the pitch detecting circuit and which generates a waveform of one pitch from the waveform of the plurality of pitches; a band restriction circuit which restricts the frequency band of the one pitch waveform generated in the pitch waveform generating circuit; and a coding circuit for coding the voice waveform which is band restricted in the band restriction circuit. The sampling number of the waveform for a plurality of pitches and the restricted bandwidth can be changed in accordance with the amount of the pitch period extracted in the pitch detecting circuit. Further, the pitch detecting circuit is able to correctly detect the pitch period even when the pitch period is not a multiple of the sampling period.