174results about "Volume compression/expansion having semiconductor devices" patented technology

Output control system and method includes calculating gain for an input signal, detecting a predetermined condition, and modifying the gain calculation in accordance with one or more kneepoints to provide a varying output signal. A companding ratio is then established in accordance with the kneepoints. System gain is then adjusted, and the companding ratio may be further adjusted by adjusting one of the kneepoints relative to another.

This invention describes a practical application of noise reduction in hearing aids. Although listening in noisy conditions is difficult for persons with normal hearing, hearing impaired individuals are at a considerable further disadvantage. Under light noise conditions, conventional hearing aids amplifying the input signal sufficiently to overcome the hearing loss. For a typical sloping hearing loss where there is a loss in high frequency hearing sensitivity, the amount of boost (or gain) rises with frequency. Most frequently, the loss in sensitivity is only for low-level signals; high level signals are affective minimally or not at all. A compression hearing aid is able to compensate by automatically lowering the gain as the input signal level rises. This compression action is usually compromised under noisy conditions. In general, hearing aids are of lesser benefit under noisy conditions since both noise and speech are boosted together when what is really required is a reduction of the noise relative to the speech. A noise reduction algorithm with the dual purpose of enhancing speech relative to noise and also providing a relatively clean signal for the compression circuitry is described.

Techniques to linearly (in dB) adjust the gains of variable gain elements (i.e., variable gain amplifiers or VGAs) in a receiver or transmitter. An input control signal is provided to a conditioning circuit that conditions the control signal to achieve various signal characteristics. The input control signal is limited to within a particular range of values, temperature compensated, scaled (or normalized) to the supply voltages, shifted with an offset, or manipulated in other fashions. The conditioned signal is then provided to an input stage of a linearizer that generates a set of exponentially related signals. This is achieved using, for example, a differential amplifier in which the conditioned control signal is applied to the inputs of the differential amplifier and the collector currents from the differential amplifier comprises the exponentially related signals. An output stage within the linearizer receives the exponentially related signals and, in response, generates a gain control signal. By approximately matching the output stage to a gain stage of the variable gain element and by using the gain control signal generated by output stage, the gain transfer function of the VGA approximates that of the exponentially related signals.

A method of estimating diaphragm excursion of an electrodynamic loudspeaker may be performed using audio signals. An audio output signal may be applied to a voice coil of the electrodynamic loudspeaker through an output amplifier to produce sound. A detected voice coil current and a determined voice coil voltage may be applied to a linear adaptive digital loudspeaker model that has a plurality of adaptive loudspeaker parameters. The parameter values of the adaptive loudspeaker parameters may be computed based on the linear adaptive digital loudspeaker model and applied to a non-linear state-space model of the electrodynamic loudspeaker. For the non-linear state-space model, a predetermined non-linear function may be applied to at least one of the plurality of received parameter values to compute at least one non-linearity compensated parameter value of the adaptive loudspeaker parameters, to determine an instantaneous excursion of the diaphragm.

Aspects of a method and system for limiting an audio signal output in an audio device are provided. An exposure meter may provide measurements of SPL values of the audio signal. When a volume or exposure level of the audio signal may approach or exceed a specified limit, the audio signal may be enforced to a predetermined limit. The audio signal may be an input or an output signal of a speaker of an audio device such as a stereo headset. A trend of the measured SPL values may be predicted based on the measured SPL values and device specific reference SPL values. When the volume or exposure level of the audio signal may not be within the specified limit, the audio signal may be limited and an alarm may be sent out to listener. A set of audio volume level parameters may be determined and applied, accordingly.

The present invention provides a power amplifier module featuring that: its output power characteristic smoothly changes as the input control voltage changes; and its control sensitivity is stable over a wide dynamic range. By same means, idling current for gain setting is supplied to a single amplifier element or all of multiple stages of amplifier elements of the power amplifier module. By making this idling current behave so as to exponentially change, relative to input control voltage, the invention enables output power control proportional to the input control voltage.

A multi-channel signal processing system adapted to provide binaural compressing of tonal inputs is provided. Such a system can be used, for example, in a binaural hearing aid system to provide the dynamic-range binaural compression of the tonal inputs. The multi-channel signal processing system is essentially a system with two signal channels connected by a control link between the two signal channels, thereby allowing the binaural hearing aid system to model behaviors, such as crossed olivocochlear bundle (COCB) effects, of the human auditory system that includes a neural link between the left and right ears. The multi-channel signal processing system comprises first and second channel compressing units respectively located in first and second signal channels of the multi-channel signal processing system. The first and second channel compressing units receive first and second channel input signals, respectively, to generate first and second channel compressed outputs. The multi-channel signal processing system further includes peak detecting means detecting signal peaks of the first and second channel input signals for generating first and second channel control signals. Thereafter, gain adjusting means adjusts signal gains of the first and second channel control signals. The first and second channel compressing units then respectively compress the first and second channel input signals to produce the first and second channel compressed outputs in accordance with the adjusted first and second channel control signals, respectively.

Non-linear asymmetric amplifiers incorporate different non-linear characteristics in single ended or differential configurations to avoid cancellation of non-linear characteristics and to produce the harmonic structures of vacuum tubes. The operating currents of the asymmetrical devices are different to create a bias shift in the coupling capacitance between the asymmetrical devices.

A grounding switch is described which operates properly even in the presence of negative voltages on a signal line. The grounding switch uses isolated field effect transistors that have their substrates tied to different voltages. The isolated field effect transistor has gate voltage and substrate voltage which can be pulled down to negative voltage when the signal line has a negative voltage allowing the switch to remain open even with a negative voltage.

Envelope limiting for a polar modulator. A system is provided that intelligently compresses the amplitude modulation in a polar modulator so that it can be implemented with a single-stage variable gain amplifier. Limiting the amplitude modulation range on the low side prevents collapse of the transmit signal's time-varying envelope and eases circuit implementation. Limiting the amplitude modulation range on the high side reduces the peak-to-average ratio of the waveform and thereby improves the efficiency of the radio transmitter.

Systems and method for adapting a gain of an audio signal containing at least two different tracks with different signal level ranges. An example system includes a loudness determination unit for determining a perceived loudness of the audio input signal based on a psychoacoustic model of a human hearing. The system further includes a loudness adaptation unit configured to determine a loudness adaptation indicator based on the perceived loudness and a predetermined loudness, and to introduce the loudness adaptation indicator into the audio signal to generate an adapted gain signal. A gain determination unit is configured to adapt the gain for outputting the audio signal containing the at least two tracks based on the loudness adaptation indicators in the adapted gain signal at about the predetermined loudness.

A controller 100 updates data LVLm indicative of a level section of an input audio signal and controls a reference level Vr based on a signal CMP representative of a comparison result between the input audio signal and the reference level Vr, and further, controls gains of electronic volumes 10L and 10R in such a manner that these gains become such gains corresponding to the level section of the input audio signal. In this case, the level sections of the input audio signals are related to the gains in such a manner that levels of output signals of the electronic volumes do not exceed a previously set output amplitude upper limit level.

A fast response time, self-activating, adjustable threshold limiter including a limiting element LE, a first coupling element CE₁ electrically connected from a signal node of LE to a control input of LE, and a second coupling element CE₂ electrically connected from the control input of LE to a nominal node of LE. An initial bias (control) voltage is also supplied to the control input of LE to dynamically control the limiting threshold for the limiter. Embodiments include usage of self-activating adjustable power limiters in combination with series switch components in a switch circuit in lieu of conventional shunt switches.

A soft limiter for a signal processor includes a variable-gain amplifier, and a threshold detector. The variable-gain amplifier includes a signal input for receiving an input signal, a signal output for providing an output signal representative of the input signal, and a gain control input for controlling a gain of the amplifier. The threshold detector is coupled to the gain control input, and includes a control input for receiving a control variable thereon. The threshold detector is configured to set the gain of the amplifier to a first gain value when the control variable exceeds a threshold value, and to set the gain to a second gain value different from the first gain value when the control variable is less than the threshold value.