Apparatus for generating a stereo audio signal from waterborne sound signals

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for generating a stereo audio signal 11, 14 from waterborne sound signals received by means of a sonar installation. The sonar installation has a reception antenna 1 with a reference direction BR which is fixed for the antenna and a multiplicity of waterborne sound sensors 2, a beamformer 6 and a stereo mixer 7. The waterborne sound sensors 2 obtain received signals 3, 5 from the waterborne sound signals and provide a beamformer 6 with them. The beamformer 6 generates direction signals 8 by delaying the timing of the received signals on the basis of direction and summing them in phase and provides the stereo mixer 7 with them. Every direction signal 8 has an associated main reception direction HR on the basis of the respective time delays, said main reception direction being situated in an acoustic monitoring plane HE and being pivoted relative to the reference direction BR. The monitoring plane HE contains a main listening direction 63 and at least one monitoring sector 61 which contains one or a plurality of adjacent main reception directions HR and which has an associated mapping sector 62 in a mapping plane AE which is covered by the stereo audio signal 14. The stereo mixer 7 can be used to generate a left and a right audio signal 43, 44 for the stereo audio signal 14 for reproduction by means of an acoustic stereo reproduction device 13, wherein both audio signals have summed signals from weighted and delayed direction signals 8. One or more monitoring sectors 61 are selectable, wherein the stereo mixer 7 processes only those direction signals 8 for forming the left and the right audio signal 43, 44 whose main reception directions HR are situated in the selected monitoring sector(s) 61.